COSTA MESA : Recycling Volume Increases by 15%

With the use of new equipment, the city has quietly increased the volume of trash it recycles by 15% since the beginning of the year.

When the residential recycling program started in November, 1989, the city contractor, CRT Transfer, recycled 10% of the city trash. Now, 25% of the bottles, newspapers, aluminum cans, cardboard and other recyclables are turned into other products.

“Before, it was all sorted by hand,” said Bob Brock, manager of the Costa Mesa Sanitary District. The new equipment being used sorts out the items and saves a higher volume of trash from reaching the landfill.

At the beginning of January, city residents received a brochure explaining the city’s new program and asking for help in keeping the recyclable items from being contaminated by other trash. They are asked to bundle their newspapers, diapers and lawn trimmings, rinse plastic and glass and remove lids from bottles.

Unlike some cities, such as Irvine and Orange, Costa Mesa does not ask residents to put recyclable materials in separate bins.

“Here, you get 100% (of the recyclable material). There, they get only a certain amount of it. There are things that people don’t know are recyclable, such as cardboard, that our program will catch,” Brock said.

The increased volume of recycling will bring a $15 increase in annual garbage fees, Brock said.