Resource Conservation

The City supports and encourages Reduce, Reuse and Recycling of all materials. In cooperation and coordination with the County of Santa Barbara, various programs are available. Additional information can be found at the Less is More website.

Organics Recycling in Santa Barbara County

What’s the story with our yard waste and food scraps?

Per California’s new state law, SB 1383, Santa Barbara County businesses and residents are required to recycle green waste and food waste beginning in January 2022. Fortunately, the County’s long-standing organics recycling programs and new ReSource Center will ensure that our community achieves compliance with the new requirements.

Commercial and residential waste that is thrown into a trash cart or bin in Buellton, Goleta, Santa Barbara, Solvang, and the unincorporated areas of the Cuyama Valley, Santa Ynez Valley, and South Coast is processed at the County’s newly opened ReSource Center. Recyclable materials are recovered and sold and organics (including food waste) are separated from trash and  transformed into compost and energy that powers up to 3,000 homes per year. With this new facility, approximately 60% of additional waste from our trash cans is diverted from the landfill, bringing our region’s diversion rate to above 85% while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This means that residents who live or work in these areas are following the new state law by continuing to throw their waste into the same bins as you are today.

In addition to the ReSource Center, the County offers other ways for the community to recover and recycle organics.

• Yard waste collection:Yard waste collected in your green container is converted into mulch. The County produces over 40,000 tons of high-quality mulch every year, which goes back to the community and local agriculture. Please do not mix food scraps with your yard waste, as it interferes with the mulching process. Visit www.LessIsMore.org/mulch to learn more about the County’s Mulch Program.
• Backyard composting:The County’s Backyard Composting Program makes it easy to compost where you live. Visit www.LessIsMore.org/compost to access a free “Composting ABC’s” booklet and learn about the discounted composting bin program. Within months, you can have finished compost for your garden.
• Commercial food scraps collection and processing: The County’s Commercial Food Scraps Collection Program is available to large food scraps generators, such as schools, restaurants, and grocery stores. The collected food scraps are processed at the ReSource Center, increasing the overall quality of the finished compost.

Please contact the County Public Works Department with any questions at (805) 882-3600 or recycling@countyofsb.org.

What Are Film Plastics?

“Film Plastics” means flimsy malleable plastics like a plastic bag or saran wrap or the thick tarp like plastic used for hoop houses in agriculture. For more information please download and read the What Are Film Plastics? document.

What Do I Do with Used Motor Oil?

If you change your motor oil and filters at home, be sure to: Use an durable plastic oil collection/drainer container with secure tight fitting lids to collect, store and transport your oil to the nearest state certified used oil collection center.  Within the SYV, the state certified used oil collection centers are located at:

• SYV Recycling and Transfer Station, 4004 Foxen Canyon Road
• Jim Vreeland Ford, 340 East Highway 246
• O’Reilly Auto Parts, 270 East Highway 246
• Rio Vista Chevrolet, 390 East Highway 246
• Waste Management. 97 Commerce Drive

Place cardboard under your drip pan to prevent spills.  If a spill occurs, clean up the spill using dry methods (absorbent, sweep) rather than rinsing down areas.

Do not mix motor oil with any other vehicle fluids.  If the motor oil is accidently mixed with other fluids, take the mixed oil to the local hazardous waste collection facility and/or to the next local household hazardous waste collection event.
For additional container and transport guidance, visit the Less is More website for information.

What are Hazardous Wastes?

Hazardous Wastes are materials that are either flammable, corrosive, highly reactive or poisonous. As such, they should NOT be put in the trash. Many chemicals used around the home, in our cars, and in manufacturing are hazardous.

• Batteries
• Painting Products
• Automotive Fluids
• Flourescent Lights and Mercury
• Sharps and Pharmaceutical Waste
• Cleaning Products
• Pool and Hobby Supplies
• Gardening and Farm Supplies

Visit the Less is More website for additional examples and links to more information.

What is composting?

Composting is just another form of recycling. When you compost, you’re tapping into the natural nutrient cycle. In nature, organic waste from plants and animals is recycled by decomposition. Composting is controlling that decomposition to speed it up and produce a stable and odorless material for plants to use.

Composting your kitchen scraps and yard waste at home can help divert material from your local landfill and provide a good quality product for use in your yard and garden. Home composting is both fun and easy to do, and does not require large investments of time, money, or effort to be successful. 

More Information

• Sustainable Landscaping
• SB County Compost Bin Information
• ABC’s of Composting.

Recycling

The City supports and encourages Reduce, Reuse and Recycling of all materials. In cooperation and coordination with the County of Santa Barbara, various programs are available. Additional information can be found at the Less is More website.
See more at: City of Buellton Public Works

Santa Barbara Regional Recycling Market Development Zone

The City of Buellton has joined the Santa Barbara Regional Recycling Market Development Zone (SBRRMDZ), which would benefit the local business community and has been working with the Resource Recovery & Waste Management Division (RRWMD) of the County Public Works Department in this regard.

The RMDZ program combines economic development with solid waste recycling by offering low-interest loans and other forms of assistance to manufacturers that use recycled materials to make new products or as a source for other companies to make new products.  It fosters markets for recycled materials, helps divert materials from being disposed in local landfills, helps startup businesses and existing businesses expand, and creates jobs.  Renewing the designation for the SBRRMDZ will enable the SBRRMDZ to continue offering these incentives to manufacturers in its member jurisdictions.

The State established the RMDZ program to offer incentives to manufacturers in a RMDZ that use:

• Recycled materials to make new products; or
• Prevent or reduce their manufacturing waste; or
• Add value to a finished product for reuse by reconditioning, reprocessing, repairing, washing, or manufacturing.

Under the RMDZ program, up to $2 million may be borrowed (up to $1 million for property acquisition) or 75 percent of a project’s costs, whichever is less.  CalRecycle establishes the fixed interest rate every six months, and the rate may not be lower than four percent.  The maximum loan term is 10 years, or 15 years if secured by commercial real estate.  Projects in the categories of waste prevention, reuse, and recycling/composting/anaerobic digestion are eligible.

The loan funds may be used for:

• Purchasing machinery or equipment;
• Acquiring property;
• Making property improvements (at least 25 percent of the costs have to be used for sustainable building products and services); and
• Providing working capital

Manufacturers participating in the program can also receive other types of assistance from member jurisdictions, as well as CalRecycle.

More Information: Santa Barbara County RMDZ:Region Detail