Public meetings to discuss organics recycling

Two town hall meetings have been set to gather public input on a planned organics recycling program in Costa Mesa.

Ratepayers with the Costa Mesa Sanitary District currently put all their trash — including green waste and recyclables — into a single bin, giving them the relative luxury of not having to sort their items.

Under the proposed $504,679 program with CR&R; Environmental Services, district ratepayers would have to sort out organics — including food scraps and gardening waste — and place them in a separate bin.

The organics would be picked up the same a day as the trash and recyclables, but by a different truck.

The meetings are at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and 9 a.m. Jan. 11. Both sessions are in the Neighborhood Community Center, 1845 Park Ave., Costa Mesa.

The program is undergoing an environmental review, which the district’s board unanimously approved Nov. 21. How trash rates might be affected hasn’t been determined.

However, using a roughly $4-million district fund for the organics program could keep rates stable for about five years.

District officials say the program is needed to fulfill a zero-waste goal and reduce what’s sent to landfills. CR&R; plans to take the collected organics to a facility in Perris that is still under construction. There, the matter would be converted into renewable natural gas.

For more information, contact General Manager Scott Carroll at (949) 645-8400 or scarroll@cmsdca.gov.