CAMARILLO : City Considers Yard-Waste Composting

Camarillo city officials are considering setting up a program to convert residential yard waste into mulch and compost so the city can reduce the amount of grass clippings and tree cuttings trucked to landfills.

The City Council will hear a report today by City Manager J. William Little and Recycling Coordinator Becky Radonich about Camarillo’s recycling options.

Every year, Camarillo residents and businesses throw away 12,300 tons of grass clippings and other yard waste, which accounts for 22% of all the city’s garbage, according to the city staff report.

“It’s a significant portion of our waste stream,” Radonich said. But “it’s easy to identify and easy to remove from the waste stream.”

City officials estimate that homeowners and apartment managers would recycle 4,080 tons or nearly two-thirds of all their grass clippings and other yard trimmings if they had the chance.

For an estimated cost of $68,000 to $182,000, the city could set up a curbside-pickup program for yard waste as it has for glass, paper and other recyclable materials, the staff report says.

The city could sell yard waste retrieved through the program to compost companies.

Little will ask for council approval today to continue investigating how the city could pay for yard-waste recycling, and whether Camarillo should establish a pilot program.