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COURTESY PHOTOThe city of Goleta has adopted the Organics Waste Disposal Ordinance, which is an effort to reduce waste and increase edible food recovery.
The Goleta City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the Organics Waste Disposal Ordinance to comply with Senate Bill 1383.
SB 1383 directs public agencies to reduce waste disposal by 75% and increase edible food recovery by 25% by 2025. Public agencies must put programs in place and fulfill other requirements to reach this goal.
Residents, commercial generators, edible food recovery organizations, waste haulers, waste facility operators and self-haulers are required to participate in these programs.
Residential customers are already in compliance and currently require no further action. The city requests that people continue to place their organic waste, such as food scraps, into the brown trash bin.
New programs are being developed by the city to reduce greenhouse gasses and comply with SB 1383. Three of these programs include the Edible Food Recovery, the City-wide Organics Recycling,and participation in the ReSource Center.
The Edible Food Recovery program implements a countywide program to recover edible food that would otherwise be landfilled and distribute it to those in need. The city will contact applicable food generating businesses and help them through the enrollment process.
Organics recycling applies to businesses that generate more than 2 cubic yards of waste and meet other criteria may need to dispose of their organic waste in a separate container by enrolling for “yellow bin” service with MarBorg Industries. The city will be in contact with applicable businesses. Compliance options are available based on need and site-specific factors.
The ReSource Center Recyclables and organics are separated from trash, and organics are transformed into compost and energy that powers up to 3,000 homes per year. The new facility diverts approximately 60% of additional waste from our trash from the landfill. This means that residents who live or work in these areas are following the new state law without the need for additional yellow bin service.
For more information, go to www.cityofgoleta.org/city-hall/public-works/solid-waste.
You can contact the Goleta Environmental Services Division with any questions at environmentalservices@cityofgoleta.org.
email: kzhender@newspress.com
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