HUNTINGTON BEACH : New Facility Simplifies Recycling

Beginning today, trash picked up in Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley will be taken to a new $11-million facility that uses both automated and manual sorting to capture recyclables.

Rainbow Disposal Co. Inc. of Huntington Beach has built a 42,000-square-foot recycling center that is able to process up to 90 tons of refuse an hour.

The facility will help the two cities comply with state law to reduce the amount of trash taken to landfills.

The law requires a 25% reduction of waste by 1995 and 50% by 2000.

“This really takes us into the year 2000. We feel comfortable that what we have here is our rocket ship into the environmental universe,” said Stan Tkaczyk, Rainbow Disposal vice president.

The new facility will permit recycling even though residents will not have to separate their recyclables from the trash.

Residents, industry and businesses will all participate and place their trash curbside--and the sorting will be done at the facility.

“Unlike some neighboring cities that have participation rates of 30% or worse, (the facility has) enabled 100% of Fountain Valley’s residents and workers to recycle,” Mayor John Collins said.

Many of these cities have curbside recycling programs that require residents separate recyclables and place them in separate trash containers for curbside pickup.

Huntington Beach Mayor Linda Moulton-Patterson said the facility is long-awaited and “ushers in a new era for the recycling effort.”

While Moulton-Patterson hailed the facility a plus for the environment, she said it will also benefit the economy by creating 75 new jobs in the community.

Both cities increased residential trash fees by $3 a month--to $15.20 a month--to offset the cost to recycle trash.

The $3-fee rate increase is in effect until July, 1995.

Fountain Valley City Manager Ray Kromer said since the city began charging the new trash rate in January, and since the recycling program did not start until May, residents will receive rebates.

“We think that’s fair because we collected the money without providing the service, so we’re going to give it back,” Kromer said.

However, Huntington Beach has no plans for a rebate at this time, said Deputy City Administrator Richard Barnard, adding the city collected money ahead of time to meet its obligations to pay Rainbow Disposal for the cost of recycling.

“There will be some monies in the fund as a cushion--or a reserve--and those monies will be used for the purpose they were intended,” he said.

Recycling Recommendations

Contamination of recyclables can reduce their value or result in them being lost to the landfill. Here are some ways to ensure that trash is recycled:

* Separate wet and dry trash

* Rinse out cans and bottles with water

* Bag animal waste

* Separate newspapers from other paper materials and bag or bind them

* Use garbage disposal whenever possible

* Never put household hazardous waste--such as motor oil and other auto fluids, batteries, and household cleaners--in trash.

The new facility will recycle the following:

* Corrugated cardboard

* Newspaper

* Plastics

* Tin

* Aluminum

* Clear, amber and green glass

* Grass clippings and leaves (recycled for mulch)

Source: Rainbow Disposal Co. Inc.