TARZANA : Recycling Program to Begin in June

Tarzana will become one of the first West Valley communities to join the city’s curbside recycling program, according to city officials.

Sanitation officials said the service, which is scheduled to begin June 17, is expected to divert nearly one ton of would-be garbage into bright yellow recycling bins in the first month of operation. Recyclable materials include glass, aluminum, tin cans, plastic bottles, newspapers and other paper products.

“We expect great things from the West Valley,” said Gyl Elliot, spokeswoman for the city’s recycling program. “Everybody out there has been so enthusiastic about it.”

In addition to the bins, which should be placed curbside on the same day as regular trash collection, residents will also receive two 60-gallon trash containers, one black and one green. The colored containers will be used to separate yard clippings from household garbage.

Two weeks before the program begins, residents will receive instructions in English and Spanish, along with the yellow bins. Representatives from the Los Angeles Conservation Corps will go door-to-door answering questions about the program.

Launched in 1991, the program currently services about 350,000 households, and is credited with diverting nearly 30 tons of recyclable material from Los Angeles landfills. New households are joining the program at the rate of 4,000 per week, and when fully implemented the program is expected to have 720,000 participating households.

Neighborhoods in Chatsworth, Northridge and Encino have also recently begun the city’s program, which aims to reduce the amount of trash being dumped in Los Angeles landfills by 25% by 1995, and in half by 2000.