LAGUNA NIGUEL : Recycling Program Begins in Early 1993

The city will be implementing its first curbside recycling program for most residents beginning early next year.

A citywide contract was awarded this summer to Solag, a major waste removal company that serves much of Orange County, to pick up of both recyclable and non-recyclable garbage.

On Feb. 15, Solag will begin distributing two plastic waste containers to homes, said Solveig Darner, community liaison in Laguna Niguel. One container will be intended for non-recyclable refuse, while the other will hold recyclables such as newspapers, glass and plastics.

The new garbage program is being implemented by area. “The first to be given containers is the single-family residential units,” which make up more than three-fourths of the city, said Darner.

By the end of March, all those residences should be equipped with the containers. After that, local commercial businesses and apartment dwellers will receive containers. But city officials have yet to set a timetable for converting the whole city to the new system, Darner said.

In the meantime, the city is looking for a location for a major recycling station for those not included in the first phase of the curbside program.

Most residents have been dumping their newspapers and other garbage off an access lane near Niguel Road and Crown Valley Parkway. The owner, Clarence Humphries, wants that dump site closed.

When the program is operating fully, the curbside pickup will be done weekly--with one fifth of the city being served daily, Darner said.

Solag’s garbage trucks will feature a mechanical arm that will lift the refuse containers off the sidewalk, dump them into the truck, and then set them back down.