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# The rigors of recycling
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/the-rigors-of-recycling/
- Published: 2006-09-01T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T21:21:52.000Z
- Author: Kevin Herrera
- Tags: Environment, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*SANTA MONICA A LEADER IN DIVERSION*

DELAWARE AVENUE — With a smile stretching from ear to ear, Cindy Birchall stood in quiet contemplation, admiring her latest haul — a mound of clear plastic bottles and shiny aluminum cans.

Birchall is a familiar face for the employees at the Santa Monica Community Recycling Center, where the spunky blonde will pull up in her sedan several times a month and unload clear plastic bags stuffed with recyclables, sometimes as much as 300 pounds worth.

Whereas others may see the bright greens, dark browns and lush reds of Heineken beer bottles and Coke cans as just trash that needs to be discarded, Birchall and her family see reusable materials that can be recycled to save the environment, while providing an extra source of income in the process.

“We are rigorous recyclers in our household,” Birchall said as she pushed a cart loaded with plastic bottles onto a scale to be weighed. “We have receptacles for all kinds of recyclables in our house, paper, plastics, glass … It just makes sense to recycle.”

Thanks to residents like Birchall,as well as conscientious business owners and a City Council dedicated to the concept of sustainability, Santa Monica has become a leader in the nation in diverting recyclables away from landfills.

“I’m very proud of our city for being ahead of the rest and for being one of the first cities to start a recycling program,” said Birchall, a self-described recycling expert.

A recent report by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, which monitors waste generation and disposal, found Californians are recycling 52 percent of the 76 million tons of solid municipal waste generated each year. The record-setting diversion rate for the state meets a legislatively imposed mandate created by the passage of the Waste Management Act of 1989.

If 52 percent seems like a low figure, that’s because Santa Monica is way ahead of the statewide average, currently diverting from landfills 67 percent of the roughly 350,000 tons of waste generated each year.

State law allows for municipalities to create their own recycling program to cut disposal rates in half, something which City Hall has done with much enthusiasm, according to West Thompson, manager of the city’s recycling program.

“We have a great combination of programs and a very active department that has helped us reach the levels we see today … and we’re continually growing,” Thompson said. “The state has set a mandate of 75 percent diversion by 2010 and we’re not that far off. We have three years to make it up, but we’re not going to stop there. We haven’t quite brought up zero waste, but there is a movement to strive for that.”

Compared to other cities in the region, Santa Monica is a cut above. According to a recent study by consultants Gershman, Brickner & Bratton (GBB), hired by City Hall to review trash hauling and recycling citywide, Los Angeles came in at a close second with a 62 percent diversion rate in 2002, followed by Beverly Hills and Culver City at 57 percent, and Burbank at 54 percent. City officials point to an engaged and educated public, as well as a progressive City Council as the reasons for the success.

“We’re pretty fortunate that our residents are pretty well educated and are fairly knowledgeable about we offer,” Thompson said. “I think we can probably do better in the commercial sector because when we talked to a lot of businesses, they are shocked to learn what we do and that we are even in the recycling business … We offer free recycling services to everyone.”

City Hall has been offering the service since the mid-1970s, said Craig Perkins, director of City Hall’s environmental and public works management. The recycling program was much different then. In the beginning, residents were given three yellow buckets — one for glass, one for newspapers and one for metal cans. Residents would fill the buckets with recyclables and set them out on the street for city employees to pick up.

The system evolved from separated recycling collection to its current form of co-mingled recycling in which residents use big blue bins to place all items, which are then sorted by employees of Allan Co., which operates the city’s recycling center. There, workers in bright orange safety vests are assigned a particular material — cardboard, glass, paper, plastics — and pick out each item by hand as it moves past them on a conveyor belt.

“This is really a much more convenient system for our customers,” Perkins said.

By changing the system, City Hall has steadily increased its diversion rate from roughly 25 percent in the early 1990s to 50 percent by 2000, and now 67 percent, one of the highest diversion rates in the U.S.

TAKING IT TO ANOTHER LEVEL While having a customer base that is environmentally conscious helps, additional efforts to increase recycling also have been made, including offering free recycling of green waste, food,refrigerators,computers and motor oil.At first City Hall only accepted newspapers, Perkins said. But now that has expanded to include almost any item imaginable.

“Over the years, we have constantly looked at ways to increase participation and increase the amount of services to capture and divert waste from our landfills and we have been pretty successful,” Perkins said.

The environmental programs division at City Hall also has reached out to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District to help it recycle.

“Most schools in America are not recycling,” said Andrew Basmajian, an environmental outreach specialist at City Hall. “If you’re in LA, you’re not. recycling. That’s part of the reason why Santa Monica is offering our program free of charge. We go out of our way to serve.”

In addition, as part of City Hall’s Sustainable City Plan, developments of a certain size must recycle 60 percent of all building materials, which can account for anywhere from 20 to 40 percent of waste going to landfills. According to the state, green waste makes up about 30 percent of landfill waste, with construction and demolition debris accounting for 22 percent.

“Companies doing demolition have to get a bond and submit a recycling plan, but if they comply, they receive all of their money back,” Perkins said. “We’ve found that it is actually cheaper for people to deal with construction demolition waste that way because the materials are so easily recyclable.”

As the City Council begins discussions with consultant GBB in the coming months about revamping the trash hauling system — the city collects all residential garbage and recyclables while private haulers compete for commercial service — Perkins said recycling will be at the forefront. There could be talk of moving towards zero-waste, meaning the recycling of roughly 90 percent of all garbage, as well as mandatory recycling.

“There has been a lot of talk about making recycling mandatory, not just in Santa Monica but in California and the rest of the U.S.,” Perkins said.“Some communities have implemented them with mixed success.”

Since the City Hall operates recycling programs at a loss — about $1.5 million for residential service and roughly $850,000 for commercial — officials have to weigh the costs of mandatory recycling, such as providing service and enforcement, against the benefits, which often don’t carry a dollar amount.

“People often think that we make money because we’re collecting aluminum cans and people associate that with going to the buy-back center and getting cash,” Perkins said. “But we have to take into account the cost of providing the bins, paying a driver and purchasing a truck to collect the cans and take them to the recycling center.”

Instead of making recycling mandatory, City Hall has relied on education and providing service at no cost.

“We’ve always felt that we could raise participation without mandatory restrictions,” Perkins said. “And I think 67 percent is pretty good proof of that.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 1, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/090106.pdf?ref=smdp.com)