Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Santa Clarita Plans $1-Million Trash Recycling Program

In an attempt to get in line with state laws requiring cities and counties to reduce their trash output, Santa Clarita officials Tuesday announced plans for a $1-million program to recycle yard trimmings.

As proposed, the city’s three trash companies would pick up separated yard waste from commercial landscaping firms and private residences. Grass, leaves and small branches would be recycled for mulch and compost.

The proposed curbside pickup of the materials is expected to begin this year, perhaps as early as August.

Santa Clarita’s three waste haulers--Atlas Refuse, Blue Barrel Disposal and Santa Clarita Disposal--have agreed to participate in the program. It would be funded with a $3 to $5 fee added onto property owners’ monthly garbage pickup bills, said city public information officer Gail Foy.

Public works officials are currently meeting with area schools, church groups, homeowners associations and citizens groups to discuss the program, Foy said. Additional meetings are slated for March, and public hearings will be held later in the year, she said.

California municipalities are required to reduce the amount of trash they generate by 25% as of this year and by 50% as of 2000. Under Assembly Bill 939, adopted in 1989, cities and counties face fines up to $10,000 per day from the California Integrated Waste Management Board if they fail to comply.

Santa Clarita residents and businesses produce about 20,160 tons of yard trimmings per year, according to the Santa Clarita Public Works Department. Recycling a portion of the materials can account for 75% of the trash Santa Clarita is required to divert from area landfills.

“For us to meet (the state requirement), we need to implement a yard-trimmings program,” Foy said. “That’s the only thing that’s going to put it over.”

Santa Clarita leaders have additional incentive to produce less trash. They are fighting a proposed landfill in nearby Elsmere Canyon, and part of their argument is that Los Angeles County isn’t facing the trash crisis many say it is. Therefore, the less trash the city produces, the stronger the argument.

Also in the development stage is a separate curbside pickup programs for paper and cardboard, according to officials of Santa Clarita’s Public Works Department.