Most Cities Meet Target for Trash Cuts

Recycling programs that have changed the way many residents deal with their garbage have paid off: Nearly all Orange County cities met last week’s state-imposed deadline to slash by a quarter the amount of refuse dumped in landfills.

The reduction brought those cities into compliance with a landmark state law aimed at reducing deposits to overburdened landfills across California.

Major cities--such as Santa Ana, Irvine, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Fullerton and Huntington Beach--achieved the reduction by establishing recycling programs. Only a handful of cities might fall slightly short.

But officials said the biggest challenge will come in 2000, when the law mandates cities to cut landfill deposits an additional 25% from 1990 levels.

To meet this goal, cities are focusing on processing grass clippings and other forms of “green waste” into mulch, as well as encouraging the public to purchase recyclable products. Officials said they also want to improve recycling efforts at apartments and restaurants, which have proved less successful than programs for single-family homes and industrial sites.

“We have to take a step back and look at the entire program to see where we can make improvements,” said Teri Cable, Santa Ana’s administrative services manager. “It’s not going to be easy to do.”

Although a final tally won’t be ready until this summer, it appears that only a few cities are in danger of missing the 25% target--but not by much.

In Laguna Beach, City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said meeting the state mandate has proved difficult in part because recycling was common in the city before 1990, when the law took effect.

Laguna Beach also has experienced difficulties in crafting a successful program for its many restaurants, officials said, because the recyclables they generate are wet and difficult to process.

Mission Viejo officials said they are very close to making the 25% reduction but won’t know for sure until August, when statewide statistics are released.

Cities that fall substantially short could face fines of as much as $10,000 a day if the state finds they have grossly inadequate recycling programs. But Lanny Clavecilla, spokesman for the California Integrated Waste Management Board, said the state’s first goal is to avoid fines and work with municipalities to improve their programs.

“Typically, we approach those jurisdictions to see how we can help them,” Clavecilla said. “We find that’s the most productive way to go.”

The recycling boom was sparked by a far-reaching 1989 law designed to ease the burden on rapidly filling garbage dumps across California.

The law established last Monday as the deadline for agencies to cut landfill deposits by a quarter. Statewide, that goal appears to have been met, Clavecilla said.

All Orange County cities now have some type of recycling program.

Some cities ask customers to separate cans, bottles and newspapers into various color-coded bins. In other communities, customers deposit normal trash in one can and all recyclables in a second can. In still other areas, trash is sorted at high-tech “materials recovery facilities,” meaning residents and businesses don’t have to sort garbage.

The extra costs of the various programs have added $2 to $3 a month to the average household’s trash bill. Still, recycling has resulted in a significant decrease in dumping at local landfills.

Cities got a boost in their efforts to comply with the law when the state decided to adjust the 1990 landfill deposit figures to reflect increases in population and economic development. The change benefited cities such as Laguna Niguel, where the population has increased by 10,000 since 1990 and many new shopping centers have been built.

Residents can expect more pressure to recycle in the years ahead as cities attempt to reduce landfill deposits by another 25%.

Many cities are considering education campaigns aimed at helping the public select products that benefit recycling efforts. George Buell, a Fullerton associate planner, said even modest buying decisions--such as using concentrated laundry detergent that comes in smaller packages--can help.

“We can make people more aware of the need to reduce landfill deposits,” Buell said. “A lot of people want to do something to help the environment.”