Hoping to make landfills relics of the past, the city of Los Angeles wants all 3,600 tons of trash picked up daily from its residents to be recycled or turned into compost or alternative energy by 2030.

Under the plan, the city could make up to $100million annually by sending the extra tons of garbage to newly created recycling facilities around Los Angeles instead of dumping them in landfills.

Known as the zero-waste plan, it's part of the city's vision to move away from using landfills in urban areas by 2011.

"We will not be using landfills," said Reina Pereira, project manager for the city's Bureau of Sanitation, under the Department of Public Works. "The majority of what we throw out could be a valuable resource."

On Wednesday, the department will host a news conference to discuss its ambitious energy goals, which got under way a year ago with public outreach. Community groups, churches, environmentalists and others, meanwhile, have helped create plans to enable the city to reach zero waste by 2030. Those proposals will be released April 26.

Already Los Angeles residents each day put out 1,000 tons of recyclables by the curb for pickup.

Those bins sit beside another 1,800 tons of leaves, tree branches and yard clippings discarded daily in Los Angeles.

Whatever cannot be further recycled or composted from the department's 750,000 weekly customers could be turned into alternative fuels, such as biodiesel or electricity, said Alex Helou, assistant director for the city's Bureau of Sanitation.