Dive Brief:

• San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said the Miramar landfill, the city's only active dump, is projected to remain viable through 2030 — eight years beyond the projected 2022 date. 
• Faulconer cited the city's "zero waste" by 2040 policy, approved last month, which includes new regulations, incentives, and fee hikes aimed at increasing recycling rates, producing less waste and, developing new markets for recycled and composted materials. The city's first goal is to increase the amount of trash diverted from 67% to 75% by 2020, a 332,000-ton annual reduction.
• The landfill’s lifespan has also been extended by the new "pancake lift" trash compaction method suggested by employees that increases capacity by 45%, from 8 million tons to 11.6 million tons. The method creates horizontal layers of trash and replaces a sloping system that relied on hillsides.

Dive Insight:

The city has made a real commitment to zero waste, which has proven to be successful in many aspects. "The city of San Diego continues to innovate and improve to the benefit of our environment and taxpayers," Faulconer said during a news conference at the landfill.

In addition to extending the landfill and reducing waste, the new policies will generate a projected $109 million in future dumping charge revenue and help the city avoid paying dumping fees at other landfills for at least eight more years.

"The bottom line is we are putting more trash into less space and expanding the life of the landfill, which is worth tens of millions of dollars in future revenue," Mario Sierra, the city’s environmental services director, told the Union Tribune.