Recycling Market Development Zones

Ventura County

The entire County of Ventura (population nearly 800,000) is designated as a Recycling Market Development Zone. The cities of Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, San Buenaventura, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, and Thousand Oaks, including some unincorporated areas, comprise Ventura County RMDZ. It consists of 1,198,779 acres, including 15,000 acres of industrially zoned land, and overlaps a Foreign Trade Zone. Ventura County has a deepwater port, a dependable labor supply, affordable land and lease rates, uncrowded freeways, and an infrastructure geared to handle planned growth. The county is also adjacent to Los Angeles, providing access to large urban markets as well as sources of materials for manufacturing.

• Incentives
• Target Materials
• Infrastructure
• Contact

Incentives

In addition to assisting companies in obtaining low-interest, long-term, fixed-rate loans offered through the RMDZ program, Ventura County RMDZ staff can assist companies with financing strategies that include other loans and grants. Regional venture capital forums, in coordination with Central Coast MIT Enterprise Forum and California Lutheran University, can also be potential funding sources.

RMDZ staff can also provide assistance with obtaining permits, siting, and acquisition of materials for manufacturing. Additionally, through Ventura County’s Workforce Development Division employers are offered free personnel services, including employee recruitment and screening, on-the-job training, and customized training. Up to half the salary of eligible employees can be reimbursed to employers during an agreed-upon training period. There are also sheltered workshops, job coaching programs, and other opportunities for subsidized labor in Ventura County.

The RMDZ program can also help you with energy-related programs that meet your company's needs. For example, California Renewable Energy Loan Guarantee Program guarantees loans made by financial institutions to eligible businesses for the purpose of purchasing renewable energy systems that will reduce usage of the State's electrical grid.

The Ventura County RMDZ also overlaps another zone. Port Hueneme, the only deepwater port between San Francisco and Los Angeles, is a Foreign Trade Zone. It provides duty reductions, deferrals, inversions, and other benefits to importers, exporters, and certain product assemblers. Other sites in Ventura County offer additional benefits. The Energy Technology Engineering Center provides Cooperative Research and Development Agreements in association with the U.S. Department of Energy.

Tax reductions are also possible. A tax credit of 6 percent of the cost of machinery and equipment used to make products can be used to offset a company’s State taxes through the State Manufacturers’ Investment Tax Credit. Additionally, up to $17,500 per year can be deducted from gross revenues for federal income tax.

Target Materials

In addition to the county’s need for increased recycling of mixed paper and plastics, special opportunities exist for the recycling of yard debris, tires, agricultural film plastics, and construction and demolition debris.

Infrastructure

Recycling: Ventura RMDZ recycling infrastructure includes two large material recovery facilities and a network of smaller ones located throughout the county. In addition to serving the residential and commercial sectors, there are several major education facilities; California State University, California Lutheran University, and several public and private colleges. Ventura manages secondary feedstock recycling through its curbside collection, buy back and drop-off programs. Recyclables are primarily transported by commercial, self-haul customers. They are then processed at two main locations within the RMDZ. Currently, there are 26 sites that collect green waste, as well as programs to handle inert material, tires, manure, plastics, fat, oil, grease, meat, and bone.

Transportation: Roadway transportation in the zone includes Highways 101, 23 ,26, 33, 34, 126, 150, and 118. Interstate 5 is nearby, and Highway 118 connects easily to California’s Central Valley. The Southern Pacific rail line is a major east/west rail corridor, and the deepwater Port of Hueneme can be accessed by road or rail. There are small airports in Camarillo, Oxnard, and Santa Paula, and the Point Mugu Naval Air Station may be converted to joint commercial use. Recycling infrastructure includes two large material recovery facilities and a network of smaller ones located throughout the county.

Contact Information

Ventura County RMDZ http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/RMDZ/Ventura/default.asp David Goldstein PWA, W&S Dept., Enviro & Energy Resources County: Ventura 800 S Victoria Ave #1650 Ventura, CA 93009-1650 Phone: (805) 658-4312 Fax: (805) 658-4324 Email: david.goldstein@ventura.org CalRecycle contact for this RMDZ: Zone Liaison: Kim Oakley

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