CAMARILLO : Final Hearing to Be Held on Waste Plan

Camarillo residents can comment at a public hearing Wednesday on the city’s plan to halve its waste volume by the year 2000 and eliminate all hazardous waste from its trash.

The hearing will be at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council chambers.

After the hearing, the council will decide whether to adopt the plan, which was revised after a hearing last year. City officials have been working on the plan for the past year.

If the city fails to reduce its waste volume by 50% by the year 2000, it will face $10,000-a-day fines by the state.

The plan outlines how the city will provide education, information and incentives to the public concerning how to generate less trash; it identifies the projected need for a new county facility for composting organic waste such, as yard cuttings; and it projects costs for the entire project.

The plan also offers ways the city can reduce its waste, such as reusing asphalt in road projects. It describes incentives the city can use to entice businesses and residents to cut back their trash production, such as an awards program to recognize those who excel.

Residents and businesses can cut the volume of trash they produce by using cloth diapers and mugs instead of paper or plastic foam cups, and by composting yard waste, the plan says.

The estimated cost of implementing the plan and its recommended programs rises each year, starting in 1992 with a base cost of $389,000 to $482,000 with an additional $55,000 to $66,000 for new programs.

Projections are listed for years through 1995, when costs will rise to $460,000 to $523,000 for the base program, and $61,000 to $72,000 for new components.