Santa Barbara County Public Works Department

November 2008

Community Hazardous Waste Collection Center to Be Closed during Thanksgiving Weekend

The Community Hazardous Waste Collection Center (Center), located on the campus of the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), will be closed during Thanksgiving weekend (November 28th through 30th). Normal operating hours will resume beginning on Friday, December 5th, for businesses with appointments between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Households may resume disposing of hazardous waste at the Center on Saturday, December 6th between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. and on Sunday, December 7th between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. To make an appointment or if you have any questions, please call the Resource Recovery & Waste Management Division at (805) 882-3602.

October -- December 2008

Foothill Open Space Community Planting Day

The Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division, in association with Growing Solutions Restoration Education Institute, is sponsoring several Community Planting Days at the Foothill Open Space (Foothill Closed Landfill). The first Planting Day is Friday October 17, 2008 from 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm. Additional Planting Days are scheduled for Sunday November 16, 2008 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm and Saturday December 13, 2008 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. The Foothill Open Space is located in eastern Goleta across from the South Coast Recycling and Transfer Station. With grant funds from the State Department of Parks and Recreation and matching funds from the County, the Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division, with help from Growing Solutions and the community, is restoring approximately seven acres of the site with native plants. The community is invited to participate in the restoration efforts and enjoy refreshments with neighbors and friends after the planting. For more information on the Planting Day, please see the attached flyer Oct 17 2008 Foothill Planting flyer.pdf or contact Joddi Leipner at 882-3614.

September 2008

California Coastal Cleanup Day

Once again, Coastal Cleanup Day was a huge success! With your help and the coordination by County of Santa Barbara Public Works Department, Resource Recovery & Waste Management Division, over 500 volunteers helped to clean our area beaches on September 20^th. At this year's Coastal Cleanup Day over 2000 pounds of trash and almost 600 pounds of recyclables were collected. Thank you to everyone who came out. Next year's event will occur on September 19, 2009 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Mark your calendars and come out to help pickup trash and keep our beaches clean. To obtain more information, click on this link: coastal_cleanup.html

Spring Green Waste Recycling Campaign

The County of Santa Barbara has launched an outreach campaign to encourage people to recycle their green waste rather than throw it into their trash containers. The campaign is also designed to educate the public about the types of green waste that can and cannot be placed in green waste recycling containers.

To learn about the types of materials that can and cannot be placed in your green waste recycling container, please click on this link to access the Green Waste Guidelines: Green Waste Do's and Don't's

Have you heard our catchy green waste songs? Click on the links below to hear some music to put you into the mood for properly recycling your green waste (media player required):

Green Waste Blues.wma
Green Waste Rag.wma

If you have any questions about recycling green waste, please call (805) 882-3624.

Earth Machine Composting Bins on Sale

The County also has Earth Machine composting bins on sale for $40.00, a savings of over 50 percent off the retail price. To obtain more information, please click here: composting_bins.html

Free Mulch Available

Did you know that the County offers free mulch? To learn how you can obtain free mulch, please click here: mulch&green_waste.html

County Waste Diversion Rate at 69 Percent

Based on our most recent data for 2006, we have calculated that the County of Santa Barbara, encompassing the unincorporated areas of Santa Barbara County, has achieved a diversion rate of 69 percent. This diversion rate represents an increase of six percent from our diversion rate for 2004 and has been submitted to the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) for formal certification. This diversion rate exceeds the State mandate (AB 939) that all jurisdictions divert at least 50 percent of their waste from landfills by the end of 2000. Statewide, the diversion rate is 54 percent for calendar year 2006.

The County of Santa Barbara offers a wide variety of programs to encourage the community to reduce, reuse, and recycle its waste.Without the cooperation and participation of the community, however, the County of Santa Barbara could not have achieved such a high diversion rate. Although attaining a diversion rate of 69 percent is impressive, much more can be done. Therefore, the County of Santa Barbara Public Works Department, Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division, will continue working with the community to expand its existing programs and to add new programs wherever possible.

Last updated: November 4, 2008