Dive Brief:

• San Diego County residents toss more trash than any other California urban region, and the volume has risen three consecutive years, with numbers up 3% last year, according to a statewide study done by Equinox Project as reported by Fox 5 San Diego.

• The county's top three garbage generators, measured by pounds per person per day, are Del Mar (16.2 pounds); Coronado (10.3 pounds); and Carlsbad (8 pounds). The trend, the Equinox Project found, is for the wealthiest communities to produce the most waste.

• Maramar Landfill, says the Equinox Project's Stephen Heverly is not prepared to continue handling the garbage. He points out there are community programs to divert materials; such as recycling and composting for yard waste and food waste.

Dive Insight:

Four of the five top US recycling cities are in California: San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, and San Diego. They are making headway by pushing Styrofoam  bans, investing to bump recycling and cut contamination, and hosting huge events to promote green businesses and green living.

It's no surprise that a densely populated community would generate mega tons of trash; and San Diego County is up there with about 3,299,521 residents. And while San Diego has been lauded for its recycling rates, Equinox finds there is still much to be done. And so does California, which has required municipalities to cut their landfill shipments by 75% by 2020.