1998 Trash Cutter Award Program Case Studies

Sonoma County: Regional Waste Reduction

• Program Description
• Program Summary
• Costs
• Benefits
• Contact

Program Description

The Sonoma County Waste Management Agency comprises nine cities in the county and the County of Sonoma. Through local government cooperation, the agency has cost-effectively reduced the amount of solid waste being handled at the county's five transfer stations and disposed at the Central Landfill by 37 percent. With a combined budget of less than $2.5 million the agency operates programs such as yard debris composting, wood waste chipping, household hazardous waste, source reduction, and education.  Most programs are managed by the agency's part-time staff through agreements with various contractors, while some programs, such as the household hazardous waste program an the Sonoma County Green School Contest, are managed directly by agency staff. The agency has made its expertise and materials available for other jurisdictions for re-evaluating and implementing similar programs.

Program Summary

Yard Debris Composting and Wood Waste Processing: Implemented in 1992 under a joint venture contract between Empire Waste Management and Sonoma Compost Company. Collection of yard debris from local residents, occurring every other week, has provided material to this program since its inception.

Annual Recycling Guide: The definitive resource on source reduction, recycling, composting, and disposal options in Sonoma County. This guide provides an alphabetical listing of reuse and recycling opportunities for materials; charts of motor oil, oil filters, and antifreeze recycling, curbside recycling, and drop-off recycling; information on business-only services of recycling and hazardous waste handling; and household toxics and other disposal options. The guide is available on line at www.recyclenow.org.

Eco-Desk Information Hotline (527-DESK), staffed Monday through Friday, 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., provides service for daily response to inquirers on all aspects of source reduction, recycling, and disposal, with voice-mail instructions for recycling used motor oil and filters, household toxic collection days.

Creative Re-Use/North Bay which diverts scrap and surplus materials from local industries and businesses for educational and community service purposes receives Agency financial support. This program currently impacts approximately 41,000 people in various nonprofit organizations and local schools.

SonoMax, the agency's local version of CalMAX, provides wanted and available classified ads in a quarterly newsletter to a mailing list of 1,000 residents and businesses. SonoMax is also available on line at http://users.ap.net/sonomax.

Home Composting focuses on educating local residents and students throughout Sonoma County through a series of workshops and clinics and five local demonstrations sites.  Educational materials are distributed at large special events, such as the Sonoma County Fair, local businesses, such as nurseries, and other venues, such as local libraries.  Evolution of this program has included providing home composting bins and worm bins to workshop participants at cost, school classroom demonstrations, and a resource desk and phone line to answer composting questions.

Hazardous waste management including household toxic roundups, business hazardous waste collection, and used motor oil, oil filters and antifreeze recycling opportunities at 75 locations throughout the county. The agency has also been piloting a new residential used oil collection container designed to reduce accidental spills.

Government Resources Environmental Education Network (GREEN) participation and support has resulted in the development of a comprehensive brochure, "A Healthy Environment Begins at Home," focusing on the various issues of its membership which includes Northern Air Pollution Control District; Sonoma County Water Agency; Sonoma County Environmental Health Services; Sonoma County Transit; City of Santa Rosa Storm Water Management Program; Water Conservation Division; Industrial Waste Division; and Transit and Parking Department; and other local jurisdictions. GREEN's current project is an information booth at the local Thursday Night Market held in downtown Santa Rosa.

In 1997, research and development of restaurant, large event, an institutional food waste composting included leasing a food was composting container installed at four separate locations: the annual 4H Chickenque, Mistral Restaurant, Santa Rosa Junior College cafeteria, and the Food For Thought grocery store. The second phase of this program includes a rebate program to encourage the purchase of the food waste composting container by local businesses and technical support to help them develop a successful composting program.

First implemented in 1997, the Sonoma County Green School Contest focuses on encouraging institutional changes in the local schools. By focusing on solid waste, recycling, source reduction, energy conservation, water conservation, and environmental curriculum, the agency hopes to encourage administration, building maintenance and teachers to work together to reduce the amount of solid waste generated in the schools. Cash prizes for various categories are awarded during Earth Day festivities.

Research of special events recycling began in July 1998 to develop a list of special events venues and people involved including major promoters, caterers, and event planners; assess the quality of annual solid waste generation and identify recyclable and compostable materials; identify existing programs and service providers that divert solid waste from special events; and describe the issues, opportunities and constraints for effective diversion. With this information, the agency hopes to create a successful special events recycling program.

Costs

With a combined budget of less than $2.5 million, the agency operates programs such as yard debris composting, wood waste chipping, household hazardous waste, source reduction, and education.

Benefits

The implementation of yard debris composting and wood waste processing was instrumental in creating local markets for various grades of composted materials and mulch, until demand now exceeds the supply for available materials, and also creating jobs in the local composting industry.

Through local government cooperation, the agency has cost-effectively reduced the amount of solid waste being handled at the county's five transfer stations and disposed at the Central Landfill by 37 percent.

For Further Information Contact:

575 Administration Drive #117A
Santa Rosa, CA  95403
(707) 527-3587
www.recyclenow.org