The Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division, has scheduled three area workshops to teach people about composting. Read more on our composting workshop page.
The Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division, in association with Growing Solutions Restoration Education Institute, is sponsoring several Community Planting Days at the Foothill Open Space (Foothill Closed Landfill).
The next community planting days for the Foothill Open Space are scheduled. Find out how to volunteer and see pictures at our Foothill Planting Day web page (on the County website).
Earth Day is just around the corner, and Santa Barbara County will have a presence at many of the local events this year.
The Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division (RRWMD)and the Water Agency of the Public Works Department, as well as the General Services Department, will have booths at the South Coast Earth Day Festival. This year's festival will occur on Saturday and Sunday, April 16th-17th, from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Alameda Park and is organized by the Community Environmental Council. Read more about CEC's Earth Day. See a map of County Booths.
The RRWMD will be attending the Citrix Online Earth Day for Citrix employees on Thursday April 22nd.
Isla Vista Earth Day, which will occur on Saturday, April 24th from 12:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., is sponsored by the Associated Students of the University of California, Santa Barbara. RRWMD will also be in attendence there.
The Water Agency will also be attending Vandenberg Air Force Base’s (VAFB) Earth Day celebration on Wednesday, April 28th from 11:00am to 4:00pm at Base Library (side lawn). Information abut recycling will be available there. Read more about VAFB’s Earth Day.
We thank our regional partners and wish everyone a happy Earth Day. We encourage you to attend one or more of these events so you can learn more about what you can do to protect our planet!
Safely dispose of unwanted household medications through Santa Barbara County’s Operation Medicine Cabinet. Nine new drop-off sites are located throughout the county. Read More...
Kim Phelps is one of the first horse lovers in Santa Ynez to join the brand new manure/bedding recycling program.
In October of 2008 an innovative program to recycle horse manure began in the Santa Ynez Valley, due to the combined efforts of Valley Compost, Waste Management, and the County of Santa Barbara Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division (RRWMD). The first year of the program has seen more than 600 tons of horse manure turned into valuable compost. In the past all that material was buried in the landfill.
The idea for recycling horse manure in Santa Ynez is not a new one. There are lots of horses, and those horses produce plenty of manure, which often ends up in the trash and is ultimately buried in the landfill. The horses also go through a lot of bedding material which typically ends up in the landfill as well. Waste Management worked with the County’s RRWMD in order to set up a separate collection route for these materials. The program has depended on the proven ability of Valley Compost to transform the materials into valuable compost.
Lissa Landry, owner and operator of Valley Compost with her husband Don, is pleased by the load delivered by Waste Management driver Stan Bray. Program participants are keeping plastics and contaminants out of the manure/bedding containers.
The program also relies on the cooperation of customers who are willing to give the extra effort and keep their trash separate in order to see the manure & bedding find a beneficial local reuse. Waste Management provides extra containers for trash only to these customers to help keep the manure free from contamination. If you are interested in participating, please call Waste Management at 922-2121.
Valley Compost accepts the horse manure and bedding loads at their facility near Buellton. Don and Lissa Landry have operated Valley Compost since 1990. During that time their business has provided well over a hundred thousand tons of compost for local uses in farms, orchards , vineyards and in everyday backyard gardens. To find out more about their products call 688-3926 or 965-6617.
The County of Santa Barbara, specifically the Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division, has won an award for its excellence in integrated waste managment. The award is the highest honor presented by the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA).
"In 1995, our diversion rate was only 30 percent and today Santa Barbara County is at 69 percent, making us one of the leaders for waste management recycling in California," Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors’ Chair Salud Carbajal said. "Our Public Works employees who have worked so hard with the community to achieve this success are to be congratulated for receiving this award."
Read more about the about the SWANA award or view the winning document to find out more.
The County also has Earth Machine composting bins on sale for $40.00, a savings of over 50 percent off the retail price. To obtain more information, please click here: composting_bins.html
Did you know that the County offers free mulch? To learn how you can obtain free mulch, please click here: mulch&green_waste.html
Based on our most recent data for 2006, we have calculated that the County of Santa Barbara, encompassing the unincorporated areas of Santa Barbara County, has achieved a diversion rate of 69 percent. This diversion rate represents an increase of six percent from our diversion rate for 2004 and has been formally approved by the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB). This diversion rate exceeds the State mandate (AB 939) that all jurisdictions divert at least 50 percent of their waste from landfills by the end of 2000. Statewide, the diversion rate is 54 percent for calendar year 2006.
The County of Santa Barbara offers a wide variety of programs to encourage the community to reduce, reuse, and recycle its waste.Without the cooperation and participation of the community, however, the County of Santa Barbara could not have achieved such a high diversion rate. Although attaining a diversion rate of 69 percent is impressive, much more can be done. Therefore, the County of Santa Barbara Public Works Department, Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division, will continue working with the community to expand its existing programs and to add new programs wherever possible.
Send mail to: webmaster with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright © 2000 Santa Barbara County Public Works Department Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division
Last updated: July 6, 2010
