Why Your Efforts in Trash & Organics Matter
Published on June 17, 2024
Where does the waste go? Culver City’s Environmental Programs & Operations team recently completed site visits to get a view of how City’s trash, recycling, and organics are being processed. Rest assured, your efforts are important and being put to use.
“In EPO, we get many questions about where the waste goes, if blue and green bins are actually recycled, and if the streams really stay separated. We wanted to visit our end processors to ensure that we are really making an impact,” said Wallis Nash, Senior Management Analyst with Public Works EPO Division. “We can confirm that organics and recycling are being diverted from the landfill! And to maximize the amount of recycling possible, we urge our residents and businesses to reduce contamination from these streams.”
Culver City’s trash and organics go to two main facilities -- Waste Management’s Simi Valley Landfill and Athen’s Crown Recycling Materials Recovery Facility. At the Simi Valley landfill, Waste Management processes more than trash. It also handles construction and demolition materials (C&D), recycling, and organics on site. Staff saw the C&D processing, and mulch being created from the organic waste. Waste Management implements many environmental mitigation measures and wildlife habitat protections for the surrounding area. There is a plastic liner that lines the municipal solid waste landfill that collects all the liquids that come out of the trash and divert it to be treated so that this leachate does not enter the ground water. They also have a falconer on site to keep birds away from the landfill. The falcon, which is trained to shepherd birds away, mitigates birds from flying off with trash that could contaminate the surrounding land or waterways.
Waste Management is also building a Renewable Natural Gas facility on site. All the natural gas produced by the decomposition in the landfill will be redirected to this facility and they will be able to tap into the SoCal Gas lines and sell to Southern California.
Over in Sun Valley, at Athens Services’ Crown Recycling materials recovery facility (MERF), staff watched as recycling, organics, and C&D were sorted, both mechanically and manually, and processed for the next stage. The recycling was baled and ready to be sold. Each stream of C&D was separated and processed to be reused at different sites.
“On our trip to the Athens MERF we learned that one of the biggest causes of contamination is wetness in recycling,” Nash said. “When cardboard gets wet, it turns into a soggy mess and cannot be recycled. Please keep liquids out of recycling to maximize the materials that can be recycled. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to call or email us or check Recycle Coach.”
We appreciate Culver City residents and community members doing their part in properly and correctly disposing of waste. It matters! If you have questions, be sure to visit the Trash and Recycling page on the City’s website. You can also download the Recycle Coach app to help identify which items go in the correct bin.