Trash & Recycling News ArchiveCity Trash & Recycling

Starting this year, trash will be handled differently in Santa Barbara County as we are now home to a cutting-edge waste management facility called the ReSource Center. This facility includes a state-of-the-art Materials Recovery Facility to sort recyclables and trash and an Anaerobic Digester to process organic waste (foodscraps, wet paper, etc.). Together these operations will recover more than 85% of our waste, significantly reduce our region's greenhouse gas emissions, and produce nutrient-rich compost for local land application.

Expect traffic control and temporary delays in the Bel Air and San Roque neighborhoods and Downtown, as the City begins lining three storm drains to provide structural and drainage support to areas of the storm drain system most in need of repair.

Santa Barbara was not built out steadily over time -- it experienced a dramatic growth rate in the 1950s and 1960s. The cast iron pipes installed during this period break five times more often than other materials, leading to costly emergency repairs and interruptions. Proposed water rates fund the proactive measures the City is taking to reduce these types of events.

Pavement restoration work, part of the Las Positas and Modoc Roads Multi-Use Path Project, will resume through June 24. Traffic control and temporary striping changes to the Las Positas corridor between Modoc Road and Cliff Drive will be in place, the speed limit is reduced to 35 mph, and traffic has shifted to allow enough buffer for construction work to occur safely.

Santa Barbara continues to have some of the lowest bills for low water users among neighboring water agencies. Our rate structure is designed to collect the majority of revenue through volumetric charges, which are dependent on water usage. This gives customers more of an opportunity to reduce their water bill by decreasing water usage and promotes the City's conservation goals.