Press Release


ONE MORE WAY TO THINK GREEN THIS SPRING: RECYCLE AND REUSE GREENWASTE
Waste Management Encourages Residents to Compost, Grasscycle and Recycle Yard Trimmings

Simi Valley, Calif., April 29, 2009 - With spring in full swing, Ventura County residents are out mowing their lawns and tending to their gardens. Waste Management/GI Industries wanted to take a moment to remind residents that yard trimmings such as grass clippings, leaves and branches can be recycled or reused to produce greener and healthier lawns and gardens.

Residents have several options to reuse their yard waste, including composting. Yard waste materials can be used to create a rich nutrient that can be mixed into regular soil. To compost, combine yard trimmings and leaves with kitchen scraps in a compost bin. The materials need to be periodically mixed, turned over and watered to encourage the decomposition process. For additional information on composting, please visit www.composting101.com.

To save some time and effort and reduce water usage, you also can try grasscycling, which simply means leaving grass clippings in place on your lawn after you mow. The clippings quickly decompose and seep into the ground, providing proper nutrition to fertilize the soil. The California Integrated Waste Management Board’s website www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Organics/GrassCycling contains green tips about benefits of grass recycling.

The remaining yard trimmings can be recycled very easily. Simply place the materials in your green yard cart for collection on your normal service day. Once the material is received at the Simi Valley Landfill and Recycling Center, it is cleaned to remove contaminants and sent to a commercial composting facility where it is composted, screened and turned into a soil product that may be used in 250 types of soil mixes for agriculture, commercial landscape, nurseries and other uses.

“Since we launched our recycling program at the Simi Valley Landfill, we have recycled over 850,000 tons of greenwaste,” said Mike Smith, WM’s Director of Operations for Ventura County. “By composting, grasscycling or recycling, we can ensure our lawns and gardens look beautiful and take care of the environment at the same time.”

Materials that can be placed in the green yard cart for recycling are:

  • Grass clippings
  • Branches
  • Leaves
  • Garden trimmings
  • Shrubs
  • Cut flowers
  • House plants
  • Wood chips
  • Dead plants
  • Weeds
The following materials should not be put in the green yard cart:
  • Plastic bags
  • Plastic flower pots
  • Animal waste
  • Palm fronds
  • Yucca
  • Soil/dirt
  • Rocks
  • Treated wood
  • Recyclables – these items belong in your blue recyclables cart
  • Foodwaste
  • Trash
For more information about recycling services, please contact Lisa Hemenway at (805) 581-1746 or visit www.KeepingVenturaCountyClean.com.

Waste Management provides Ventura County with recycling, trash hauling and solid waste disposal through G.I. Industries and the Simi Valley Landfill and Recycling Center. Waste Management has owned and operated G.I. Industries since 1998 and the SVLRC site since 1983 and employs more than 230 people in Ventura County. The SVLRC provides approximately 60% of Ventura County's daily refuse disposal needs. The company operates a “green power” program at the site that generates enough power for 2,500 homes, and clean-burning LNG powers 38 of its trucks. Waste Management is a significant contributor to area community groups. For more information visit our website www.keepingventuracountyclean.com.
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