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1890

L.A builds its first garbage incinerator and provides limited pickup service, but many people still burn trash in their backyards or bury it.
1902

City officials sign their first contract with a private compnay to get rid of food waste.
1943

The city takes responsibility for trash disposal in residential areas with two weekly collections. Private firms pick up business refuse.
1957

With smog alerts a major concern, backyard burning is banned. All trash goes to landfill.
1960

Residents of Los Angeles separate their food waste, yard clippings, metals, and other noncombustible items for pickup and disposal.
1964

Mayor Sam Yorty halts the separation program, saying it forces “housewives to perform coolie labor.”
1980s

One by one, landfills begin to fill up. Environmental concerns and development restrictions make it hard to establish new ones.
1985

A pilot program for full recycling begins on the Westside. It serves some 15,000 households.
1987

Recycling expands into the Valley, then into all city council districts two years later, ultimately reaching about 95,000
1995

L.A. exceeds a state mandate to divert 25 percent of its waste from landfills.
1997

Angelenos outgrow their 14-gallon yellow and green recycling bins; the city replaces them with blue ones holding 90 gallons.
2008

Want a whiff? A group offers bus tours of L.A.’s Puente Hills Landfill, one of the nation’s largest.
2009

Los Angeles is named the top recycler among the ten largest U.S. cities, including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Dallas
2013

L.A. sets this target year to recycle 70 percent ofits trash.