Since 1978, the Western Placer Waste Management Authority (WPWMA) has been operating a sanitary landfill and materials recovery facility, a construction and demolition recycling facility, and composting facilities to prevent, dispose, reduce and reuse local waste.
Through a joint powers agreement between Placer County and the cities of Lincoln, Rocklin and Roseville, the WPWMA operates an environmentally friendly approach.
Eric Oddo, WPWMA program manager, has been with the WPWMA for nearly 25 years and is proud of the local and global impact the team’s work is making by providing innovative, resourceful and sustainable practices.
“As a municipality, we’re able to maintain a very stable and competitive rate structure for the residents and businesses of Placer County,” Oddo says. “By maintaining local control, we make a core utility consistent, affordable, convenient and worry-free.”
The WPWMA’s efforts are also powering homes. By partnering with Energy 2001 in the early 2000s, landfill gas is now turned into electricity to power more than 10,000 homes annually.
Last month, WPWMA broke ground on $120 million worth of upgraded recycling facilities on their campus. The state-of-the art construction and demolition recycling facility will provide the growing Western Placer region with waste processing and recycling of discarded lumber, metals, carpet, drywall, concrete and other construction related materials.
This is part of the Renewable Placer: Waste Action Plan, first introduced in 2018, which will bolster resources for solid waste management for the next 50 years as the area continues to grow. The plan includes innovative composting, construction and demolition, and waste sorting methods — all intended to reduce the amount of waste that is landfilled.
We provide this utility in a very environmentally thoughtful and sustainable way that protects the residents of Placer County for generations to come. — ERIC ODDO, PROGRAM MANAGER
Oddo says that behind the continued innovation and discovery of untapped resources is a simple gesture.
“We are trying to be the best neighbor we can be,” he says. “The legacy that I hope the Authority leaves centers around developing a local circular economy to spur stable markets for our recyclable items, high-wage job creation and economic growth for the benefit of the community we serve.”
