Countywide : County Backs Plan for Recycling Facility

Ventura County needs at least one regional sorting and recycling facility to reduce the amount of waste and the number of truck trips made to county landfills, Ventura County supervisors said.

The supervisors agreed Tuesday to support efforts by the Ventura County Waste Commission to establish one or more of the facilities.

A materials recovery facility “would solve many of our solid waste problems,” board chairman John K. Flynn said.

State law requires the county to reduce its waste by 25% by 1995, and by half by 2000. Western Ventura County has additional pressures to reduce because its only approved landfill is expected to exceed its capacity by December, 1993.

The waste commission represents the county’s 10 cities and the county government. The commission is working with the Ventura Regional Sanitation District to develop a joint facility.

The regional district has been planning to build a large sorting facility on its own for several years, but agreed to merge its plans with the waste commission to build a joint project, said Christy Madden, manager of the planning section of Ventura County Solid Waste Management Department.

Flynn said an alternative to a publicly owned and operated recycling center is to contract with Gold Coast Recycling, which handles the city of Ventura’s curbside recycling program.

“They have a proven record,” Flynn said. “The operators and owners of that company know their business.”

A May 21 study session for commission and city managers is planned to discuss the issue.