Trash Flash

Recycling News for Ventura Businesses & Multi-Family Complexes

Fall 2016

Harrison Food Waste Recycling Program Keeps Expanding

Smart & Final is one of the newest Harrison

commercial customers in Ventura that participates

in the food waste program.

When Harrison

Industries and

strategic partner Agromin

Premium Soil Products

launched their pilot

commercial food waste

program in April 2012, the

Albertsons supermarkets

in Camarillo, Ventura and

Carpinteria were their

only customers.

From its humble

beginnings, the food

waste-recycling program

has grown to include

120 participants –

mostly restaurants and

supermarkets but also

hospitals and schools.

Participants include

Ventura County Medical

Center, Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura,

Ojai Valley Community Hospital, the Ventura County

Jail’s Todd Road facility in the Santa Clara Valley and

the Ventura County Juvenile Justice Center in El Rio.

In the past year, businesses that have joined the

food waste program include the Ojai Valley Inn &

Spa , Smart & Final supermarkets in Ventura and

Carpinteria, Vista del Mar Hospital in Ventura and

Omni Catering in Carpinteria.

In addition, Harrison and Agromin have launched

a successful food waste

program in Ventura

Unifi ed School District’s

17 elementary schools in

which students are actively

involved in the recycling

process.

Where do the food

scraps go? Harrison trucks

collect the food scraps

from the participants and

transport the scraps to

Agromin, which employs

a Covered Aerated Static

Pile System to mix them

with yard waste to create

enriched compost. These

products save water, help

reduce soil erosion and

reduce the use of non-

organic fertilizers, pesticides

and herbicides – making our air and water cleaner.

How much food waste has been diverted from our

landfi lls since 2012? Food waste coordinator Donald

Sealund reports that 5,787 tons have been diverted

through 2015. That’s a lot of food scraps!

Harrison has purchased an anaerobic digester and

is in the permitting process, and when in service, it

can use food waste to create energy.

For more information on the food waste program,

call Sealund at 647-1414, ext. 4318.

Clean Dumpsters Help Protect Our Rivers & Beaches

Despite the ongoing drought, it’s still likely to rain at some point this winter. As a business owner, it

is your responsibility to do your part to prevent storm water pollution. An easy way to help is to regularly monitor your trash and recycling dumpsters during the rainy season and keep these best practices in mind:

u Report a leaking dumpster to E.J. Harrison & Sons (647-1414) so it can be repaired or replaced.

u Keep dumpsters covered and impermeable to rainwater. If there are no covers on the dumpster, provide overhead coverage. Keep them from overfl owing and regularly clean up loose trash.

u Keep any outside garbage, recycling, food waste or compost containers covered and away from storm drains.

u Restaurants should not store cooking oil and grease containers in uncovered areas.

Page 2Fall 2016 Trash Flash

Here’s How to Safely Dispose of Medical Sharps

Improper disposal of used

“sharps” (needles, syringes,

and lancets) can injure others—

including family members and

friends. So be sure to get rid of

them safely.

Here’s how: Pick up your free

biohazard rigid plastic sharps

containers at the either Ventura

Public Health, 3147 Loma Vista

Road (652-5754), or the West

Ventura Medical Clinic located at

133 West Santa Clara St. (641-5600). Take the container

home and when it is three-quarters full, return it to

either offi ce for proper disposal and pick up a new

container.

For safety reasons, sharps will not be accepted in

liquid detergent or bleach bot-

tles, coffee cans, glass contain-

ers, milk jugs, or soda bottles.

Below are some disposal guide-

lines:

u Sharps should be placed

into a container immediately

after use.

u Do not attempt to re-

move, bend, break, or recap the

needle.

u Keep all sharps and dis-

posal containers out of the reach of children.

u Do not dispose of sharps in curbside trash or

recycling carts.

For additional details, please call the Ventura

County Environmental Health Division at 654-5007.

Time to Assess Your Business Recycling?

On August 1, 2016, the Ventura City

Council renewed E.J. Harrison’s

franchise agreement for ten years. As part

of this renewed agreement, the City of

Ventura in partnership with E.J. Harrison

& Sons is offering a free waste assessment

to all interested businesses. City staff will

visit your business, evaluate your current

trash and recycling service level, then make

recommendations to increase recycling and

save money.

Businesses who participate in this

complimentary program are eligible for free

indoor recycling containers. Free indoor

food scrap containers are also available to

any business participating in the AB1826

Food Waste

Collection

Program.

For more

information,

call the City

of Ventura’s

Environmental

Sustainability

Offi ce at 652-

4525.

Roll-Off Bins Are Available to Local Businesses

Harrison Industries offers roll-off service and

bins for businesses with big jobs that require

large solid waste disposal. Roll-

off containers can be rented on a

temporary basis and are available

in a range of sizes – with 3, 10, 25

and 40 cubic yards of space – to fi t

your needs.

u 3-yard bins are ideal for

home, garage and garden cleanup.

u 10-yard bins are

for concrete, dirt, as-

phalt and sod remov-

al. They also are good

for removing other

heavy material.

u 25-yard bins are

for larger concrete,

dirt, asphalt and sod

removal projects.

u 40-yard bins are

ideal for construc-

tion sites, roofi ng

projects, land clear-

ing, weed abate-

ment and demoli-

tion. They also are

good to remove

large furniture and appliances.

Service is fast, reliable and economical. For more

information and rates, call 647-1414.

3-yard bin

10-yard bin

25-yard bin

40-yard bin

Trash FlashPage 3

Fall 2016

Businesses Required to Follow New Recycling Requirements for Organic Waste

California state law Assembly Bill 1826 now

requires businesses to begin separating

and recycling organic waste.

Organic waste includes food

scraps, yard waste (including

wood), and food- soiled paper.

The City of Ventura and

E.J. Harrison & Sons want

to help your business

comply with this new

mandate. The City of

Ventura’s Environmental

Sustainability Division

is offering quick and free

waste assessments for your

business. Dozens of businesses

in Ventura have already

scheduled their free waste

assessment. If your business

has not yet had your free,

30-minute onsite consultation

with City and Harrison staff, please schedule it as soon

as possible at http://surveymonkey.com/r/vtaorganics.

All businesses are subject to the new organics

recycling law; however, not all businesses generate

the minimum threshold of organics to trigger the

requirement of separate

organics collection. The

onsite consultation will

clarify whether or not your

business must modify your

current service level.

Businesses that schedule

an onsite consultation will

be eligible for free indoor

recycling containers from

the City of Ventura.

Multi-family residences

and mobile park

communities over fi ve units

are required to comply

with Assembly Bill 1826 by

having onsite yard waste

collection.

For more information, call the City of Ventura’s

Environmental Sustainability Offi ce at 652-4525.

Stopping Scavenging - Best Management Practices for Business Owners

Once items have been placed in a curbside,

commercial trash or recycling container,

scavenging, removing or tampering in any way

with the material is illegal, according to the Ven-

tura Municipal Code, and it should be reported.

Scavenging can lead to identity theft, neighbor-

hood litter and storm water pollution issues.

As a business owner/manager, here are best

management practices you can implement to

make your trash enclosure or dumpster

less attractive to scavenging:

1. Keep your dumpster and/or trash

enclosurelocked at all times.

2. Ensure your trash enclosure area is

well lit at night by installing motion sens-

ing lights.

3. Request your complimentary “No

Scavenging” signage from the City of Ven-

tura’s Environmental Sustainability Offi ce

E.J. Harrison & Sons1-800-41 TRASH

www.ejharrison.com

Roll-off Bin

No Trash

at 652-4525.

4. See it, hear it, report it! Do not confront

scavengers. Call the Ventura Police Depart-

ment’s 24-hour non-emergency number

650-8010 to report scavenging. Provide as much

information as possible regarding the scaven-

ger’s description (including vehicle make and

model), time of day when the scavenging oc-

curred and frequency of occurrence.

Page 4Fall 2016

Printed on Recycled Paper

Harrison Commercial CustomersRecycling, Unicycling and Yard Waste Guidelines

STOP No Hazardous Waste!!

These items are NOT accepted for Trash or Recycling.

u Hazardous Waste u Tires u TVs/Computer Monitors u Batteriesu Closed Containers u Oil or Paintsu Fluorescent Light Tubes & Bulbs u Medical Needles

For information on how to dispose of these items, please call: The City of Ventura Environmental Sustainability Division at 652-4525

City of VenturaCity Manager: Mark Watkins

Mayor: Erik Nasarenko

Deputy Mayor: Neal Andrews

council Members: Cheryl Heitmann,

Jim Monahan, Carl Morehouse,

Mike Tracy & Christy Weir

Got a lot of trash?Try a Harrison roll-off or bin rental. Convenient & Affordable.

Got a little bit of trash?Take it to Gold Coast Recycling & Transfer Station.

Got some yard waste or need some mulch?Call Agromin.

5275 Colt St. • Ventura • (805) 642-9236www.goldcoastrecycling.com

www.ejharrison.com

1-800-AGROMIN • (805) 485-9200www.agromin.com

(805) 647-1414 • 1-800-41 TRASH

Trash Flash

Medical Sharps RecyclingYou can bring your used needles and lancets

(sharps) to the following locations for proper and con-

venient disposal: Ventura Public Health (652-5754) or West

Ventura Family Care Clinic (641-5600).

UnicyclingUnicycling™

The rest can go in loose.No Yard Waste

This container is for BOTH Trash and Recycling

*These items need to be bagged & tied because they are messy:Food Waste, Bathroom Waste, Coffee Grounds, Wet Material,

Anything that will contaminate the recyclables.

UnicyclingUnicyclingŸ

E.J. Harrison & Sons1-800-41 TRASH

Bag & Tie the Messy Trash*The ONLY MUST for all Unicyclers.

Customer provides bags.

Step 1:

Step 2:

www.ejharrison.com

No Yard Waste

Magazines

NewspaperPaper/

Junk Mail

Aluminum & Metal Cans

Glass Containers

Cardboard

No Trash

including nursery pots, yogurt containers and toys.

NO Plastic Bags, Styrofoam, Film Plastic or Shrink Wrap.

All Hard Plastics thru

No Medical Sharps

Cartons

Cereal, Cracker & Shoe Boxes