CALABASAS : Curbside Recycling Gets Tentative OK

The Calabasas City Council gave preliminary approval this week to a law requiring residents to begin curbside recycling this summer.

The council unanimously approved the program for the 3-year-old city Wednesday night in an attempt to meet California trash-disposal requirements.

The state, faced with shrinking landfill space, has ordered cities to cut their solid waste disposal 25% by 1995 and 50% by the turn of the century.

The city now recycles about 11% of its trash.

Residents of the about 7,000 Calabasas households will pay, at most, an extra $2.75 a month for curbside pickup of aluminum cans, newspapers, glass, plastic bottles and cardboard, which will be placed in 45-gallon containers provided by private collection firms.

City Manager Charles Cate said he expects most residents to quickly accept curbside recycling, despite the slight cost increase.

“We are a pretty environmentally conscious city,” Cate said. “And the only way the program is going to work is if it’s mandatory. We think that if it is explained properly, the residents will understand the need to divert rubbish from the landfill.”

The council will consider final approval of the ordinance May 19 and will set final rates after that. Meanwhile, city officials and community members are planning a campaign in the schools and possibly by mail to drum up support for the program.