Source: County of Santa Barbara
Per California’s new state law, SB 1383, Santa Barbara County businesses and residents are required to recycle green waste and food waste 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.
Commercial and residential waste that is thrown into a trash cart or bin in Buellton, Goleta, Santa Barbara, Solvang, and the unincorporated areas of the Cuyama Valley, Santa Ynez Valley, and South Coast is processed at the County’s newly opened ReSource Center. Recyclable materials are recovered and sold and organics (including food waste) are separated from trash and transformed into compost and energy that powers up to 3,000 homes per year. With this new facility, 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 residents who live or work in these areas are following the new state law by continuing to throw their waste into the same bins as you are today.
In addition to the ReSource Center, the County offers other ways for the community to recover and recycle organics.
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. Please contact the County Public Works Department with any questions at (805) 882-3600 orrecycling@countyofsb.org.
Food scraps go into my worm farm and get used in the vegetable garden. But I know I am lucky to have the space for this.
Food scraps go into my worm farm and get used in the vegetable garden. But I know I am lucky to have the space for this.
Me, too. So does my worn out organic cotton clothing.
Me, too. So does my worn out organic cotton clothing.
Worms are magic. We had four small tomato plants the same size in the same raised bed that weren't growing much this Spring, and added one worm to each of two. The two with worms grew several feet, produced lots of fruit, and are still green today. The other two struggled to grow a couple of inches or produce even one tomato, and died months ago.
Worms are magic. We had four small tomato plants the same size in the same raised bed that weren't growing much this Spring, and added one worm to each of two. The two with worms grew several feet, produced lots of fruit, and are still green today. The other two struggled to grow a couple of inches or produce even one tomato, and died months ago.
FELLOW COMPOSTERS AND TEA DRINKERS: Everyone please read up on microplastics in teabags. While researching Teavana/Starbucks NYLON teabags (utterly disgusting; **shame on you, Unilever**), I learned that many "regular" paper teabags also contain plastic. ------------ As someone who has been composting kitchen scraps/greenwaste for decades, this teabag debacle has me floored. If you compost and/or drink tea, do yourself a favor and buy teabags you know do not contain plastic. Who needs to be drinking plastic or adding it to the garden? https://www.greencompostables.com/blog/plastic-free-tea-bags
FELLOW COMPOSTERS AND TEA DRINKERS: Everyone please read up on microplastics in teabags. While researching Teavana/Starbucks NYLON teabags (utterly disgusting; **shame on you, Unilever**), I learned that many "regular" paper teabags also contain plastic. ------------ As someone who has been composting kitchen scraps/greenwaste for decades, this teabag debacle has me floored. If you compost and/or drink tea, do yourself a favor and buy teabags you know do not contain plastic. Who needs to be drinking plastic or adding it to the garden? https://www.greencompostables.com/blog/plastic-free-tea-bags
All the more reason to switch to fresh ground coffee! The worms love the spent grounds and paper filters.
All the more reason to switch to fresh ground coffee! The worms love the spent grounds and paper filters.
This is good and we'll do our best to participate, but I also hope the rules are clear - there is some food waste that is not practically separable from containers or paper plates.
This is good and we'll do our best to participate, but I also hope the rules are clear - there is some food waste that is not practically separable from containers or paper plates.
Use paper plates which have no plastic llning on them. Those are recyclable.
Use paper plates which have no plastic llning on them. Those are recyclable.
By "recyclable," I mean to say they can go into your kitchen scraps.
By "recyclable," I mean to say they can go into your kitchen scraps.
How should we handle meat, fish, egg scraps if we don't have a dog to run them though?
How should we handle meat, fish, egg scraps if we don't have a dog to run them though?
We compost meat/fat/bone scraps with veg scraps (ALL kitchen waste including paper towels) in a second, bottomless, partly buried compost barrel that allows worms to participate. Months later, we mix it in with the other/ non-meat compost bins. These "rot" barrels are located uphill from the veg garden and the plants near them grow faster and larger. The only things that leave the farm are of plastic, metal or glass. Anything with Carbon is incorporated into the land.
We compost meat/fat/bone scraps with veg scraps (ALL kitchen waste including paper towels) in a second, bottomless, partly buried compost barrel that allows worms to participate. Months later, we mix it in with the other/ non-meat compost bins. These "rot" barrels are located uphill from the veg garden and the plants near them grow faster and larger. The only things that leave the farm are of plastic, metal or glass. Anything with Carbon is incorporated into the land.
Also, Soldier Fly Composting is another direction for meat scraps. I drilled some small holes for soldier flies to find their way in to the "Rot" bins.
Also, Soldier Fly Composting is another direction for meat scraps. I drilled some small holes for soldier flies to find their way in to the "Rot" bins.
Also, Soldier Fly Composting is another direction for meat scraps. I drilled some small holes for soldier flies to find their way in to the "Rot" bins.
Also, Soldier Fly Composting is another direction for meat scraps. I drilled some small holes for soldier flies to find their way in to the "Rot" bins.
Re: composting - thank you! I had not seen this 12/28 article and I comment so as to bring it forward for others who may not have seen it.,
Re: composting - thank you! I had not seen this 12/28 article and I comment so as to bring it forward for others who may not have seen it.,
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