County’s ReSource Center Is Helping Many Residents Recycle their Organics

Per California’s new state law, SB 1383, Santa Barbara County businesses and residents are required to participate in an organic waste recovery program beginning in January 2022. Fortunately, the County’s long-standing organics recycling programs and new ReSource Center will ensure that our community achieves compliance with the new requirements. The County’s ReSource Center serves the cities of Buellton, Goleta, Santa Barbara, Solvang, and the unincorporated areas of the Cuyama Valley, Santa Ynez Valley, and South Coast. The Center converts commercial and residential waste into resources by recovering recyclable materials and transforming organics into landscape nutrients in the Anaerobic Digestion Facility and Compost Management Unit. With this new technology, approximately 60% of additional waste from our trash cans is diverted from the landfill, bringing our region’s diversion rate to above 85% while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This means that if you live or work in these areas, your food scraps and other organics, like wet paper, will be sorted from the trash and converted into compost and renewable energy. In addition to the ReSource Center, the County offers other ways for the community to recover and recycle organics. These programs include yard waste collection and processing; backyard composting (get your discounted composting bin here!); and commercial food scraps collection and processing. As a reminder, for those living in the ReSource Center “wasteshed,” there’s no change in how you need to manage your waste. Residents should continue using their green waste, recycling, and trash containers in the same way they always have. Just remember, recyclables should be clean and dry, no food waste in the green waste bin (including fruit from backyard trees!), and never put e-waste or hazardous waste in the trash. Please contact the County Public Works Department with any questions at (805) 882-3600 or recycling@countyofsb.org.