Recycling Hot Line Adds Spanish Service

Officials operating a 2-year-old recycling hot line have added Spanish to the telephone service to attract more callers and to better alert the Latino population to the variety of recycling information available.

The Ventura County Recycling Consortium, a group of public agencies and private businesses that promotes recycling, announced the addition Tuesday, saying the sizable Spanish-speaking community in Ventura County needs better access to the recycling services offered locally.

“By providing recycling information in Spanish, more Ventura County residents will have access to recycling information and (that) will allow for greater participation in recycling programs countywide,” said Jay Duncan, who coordinates the recycling program for Oxnard.

More than 25% of Ventura County residents are Latino.

County solid waste officials estimate that more than 200,000 tons of wood, newsprint, glass, aluminum and other materials were recycled in Ventura County last year.

But that represents just 20% of the materials that could be reclaimed, according to Toni Moran, a waste management analyst for Ventura County.

“We have to do better,” said Moran, who estimated that the hot line now receives more than 100 calls a month. “We have to increase that to 25% by 1995 under (state law), and then to 50% by the year 2000.”

For information about various recycling programs or to find out where or how to dispose of hazardous materials, call 654-3935.