It varies where you live
But... here is a general idea of the life cycle of your waste and how the process works. ♻️ReThink Waste, the County of San Mateo's joint powers authority created this graphic to show how waste is transferred within its jurisdiction. Other companies in other areas have similar processes and it's our job (you, me, and our community) to make sure that we are disposing of our waste in the proper bin 🗑️to maximize our sustainability and minimize our 🌍environmental impact. I hope you wouldn't want recycled material or compost to end up in a landfill when it could be turned into making something new!
Here is Alameda County's Materials Flow Map