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Overview
The City of Thousand
Oaks is a model of a suburban community in Ventura County, California, meeting
the requirements of the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 (AB
939, Sher; Chapter 1095, Statutes of 1989). The city has achieved a
58 percent diversion rate, according to its 1998 Annual Report to the
California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB).
Summary of
Programs
The city implements a
variety of programs through its franchise haulers for both the residential and
commercial sector (see insert):
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Residential. The city now provides curbside collection of
mixed recyclables and yard trimmings to all residents. The city is recovering 50 to 60 percent of
the residential waste stream collected at the curb.
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Commercial. The city now offers recycling service to all
commercial businesses and charges at a rate that is only 30 percent of the cost
of a trash bin. The program includes
economic incentives for customers to meet a 25 percent recycling rate and the
exclusive franchise hauler is required to achieve a 30 percent recycling rate
on average for all accounts.
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Temporary Bin
Service. The city provides economic
incentives for its non-exclusive franchise haulers to achieve a 30 percent
diversion rate.
The city has
implemented a number of innovative programs:
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Electronics
Recycling. The city held its first
collection event in January 2000, recovering more than 26,000 pounds of
materials.
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Neighborhood
Enhancement Program. Groups of 15
or more residents can sign up for the city’s neighborhood enhancement program
that provides free bin service.
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Electric
Mulching Lawn Mowers. The city has
a program to take back and recycle operable gas-powered lawn mowers properly
drained of gas and oil. Customers
receive a rebate on a new electric mulching mower.
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Recycled Product
Procurement Policy. The city’s
procurement policy requires that the city purchase certain types of recycled
products, including a variety of paper products, trash liners, and printer
cartridges. The city has also purchased
recycled building materials for its city hall and local parks as well as
re-refined oil for its fleet of 350 vehicles.
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Rubberized
Asphalt Concrete. Since 1992, the
city has extensively used paving materials made of rubber from discarded
tires. To date, the program has used
rubber from 1.3 million discarded tires to resurface 130 miles of surface
streets.
Back to Top Source Reduction Programs
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Home
composting workshops
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In-office
source reduction
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Public
education materials
Recycling/Composting Programs
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Residential
curbside (recyclables and yard trimmings)
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Commercial
collection
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Residential/commercial
diversion incentives
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Hauler
diversion requirements/incentives
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Bulky
item/neighborhood cleanup
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Christmas
tree collection/drop-off
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Computer
equipment drop-off event
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Various
countywide programs
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Toilet
rebate program
HHW Programs
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Household
collection events
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Motor
oil collection sites
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Small
quantity generator collection events
Education and Outreach Programs
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Waste
reduction guide
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Hotline
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Brochures/flyers
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TV/Radio
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Lawn
mower rebates
- Wastewatch
awards
Market Development Programs
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Procurement
policy
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Green
building materials
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Re-refined
oil
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Rubberized
asphalt concrete
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Ventura
County Recycling Market Development Zone
Back to Top
Costs, Economics,
and Benefits
The city’s franchise
agreements establish the rates for collection in the residential and commercial
sectors. As part of those agreements,
the city provides a number of requirements and economic incentives to encourage
increased diversion, including:
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Discounts for residential “Super Recyclers.”
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Discounts and account incentives for commercial
recycling.
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Diversion requirements for the commercial franchise
hauler.
The city’s franchise
fees fund other city-operated programs. The city’s annual budget for the past several years has averaged
approximately $800,000 per year.
Tips for
Replication
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Allow new programs to be implemented in phases to allow
the public to be involved in the planning and implementation.
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Try to maintain flexibility in program services in
order to address inevitable complaints when services change.
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Recognize that recycling programs will continue to
evolve over time, as technologies and markets or uses for products improve.
Curbside recycling programs in particular have expanded dramatically over the
past decade in the scope and nature of the materials collected.
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Provide a variable rate system to give the public an
incentive to recycle, but recognize that the system may need to be kept simple
to administer.
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Use economic incentives that are structured to provide
rewards to ratepayers, haulers, and the city if goals are met.
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Work closely with other communities, regional agencies,
and counties in order to provide more promotional and technical support for
their programs than they could obtain individually.
CIWMB Publications
CIWMB publications are available from the Board’s online Publications
Catalog.
Credits/Disclaimer
Pursuant to contract (IWM-C8028) with the University of California at Santa
Cruz for a series of 24 studies and summaries, Californians
Against Waste Foundation (Sacramento, CA)
researched and wrote this summary for the California Integrated Waste
Management Board.
The
statements and conclusions in this summary are those of the contractor and not
necessarily those of the California Integrated Waste Management Board, its
employees, or the State of California. In addition, the data in this report was
provided by local sources but not independently verified. The State and its
contractors make no warranty, express or implied, and assume no liability for
the information contained in this text. Any mention of commercial products,
companies or processes shall not be construed as an endorsement of such
products or processes.
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