County Programs Mulch & Green Waste Program
For the second year in a row, the Santa Barbara County Public Works Department has struck gold by winning a prestigious Gold Excellence Award from the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA). This year’s award is for Marketing, as embodied by the Green Waste Awareness campaign conducted in 2008 by the Resource Recovery & Waste Management Division (RRWMD).
Read the Press Release...
Read the Winning Application...
The County of Santa Barbara has launched an outreach campaign to encourage people to recycle their green waste rather than throw it into their trash containers. The campaign is also designed to educate the public about the types of green waste that can and cannot be placed in green waste recycling containers.
To learn about the types of materials that can and cannot be placed in your green waste recycling container, please click on this link to access the Green Waste Guidelines: Green Waste Do's and Don't's
Have you heard our catchy green waste songs? Click on the links below to hear some music to put you into the mood for properly recycling your green waste (media player required):
Click to hear Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan Play the Green Waste Blues: Green Waste Blues.wma
Click to hear Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan Play the Green Waste Rag: Green Waste Rag.wma
Also, take a moment to view our Green Waste Videos. Quicktime is required.
If you have any questions about recycling green waste, please call (805) 882-3624. If you are interested in obtaining information about backyard composting, please call (805) 882-3618 or click on this link: back_yard_composting.html
Residents of Santa Barbara County may obtain mulch for use at their homes, gardens, and businesses in the following ways:
Free Mulch Pile
A free mulch pile is maintained at the South Coast Recycling and Transfer Station (SCRTC), located at 4430 Calle Real, in the unincorporated area of Santa Barbara. The free pile is accessible to households at all times during the day throughout the year. Simply bring your vehicle (truck, van, sedan), a pair of gloves and a compost fork (a shovel works less well) and help yourself to as much mulch as you like. A tarp is recommended for open bed trucks.
Loading of Mulch
Qualified trucks (no pickup trucks or trailers) may be loaded with mulch at the SCRTC for a loading fee of $15.00. For vehicles with three axles, mulch will be loaded for a fee of $40.00, and for semi-trucks, mulch will be loaded for a fee of $75.00. Call the SCRTC at (805) 681-4345 for more details.
Delivery of Mulch
The County will also deliver larger amounts of mulch for a fee. For volumes of 7 to 10 cubic yards, mulch will be delivered for a fee of $40.00 per load. For volumes of over 10 cubic yards, mulch will be delivered for a fee of $10.00 per ton. Deliveries of over 30 miles will incur a cost of $2.00 per mile one way.
Sites where semi- and roll-off deliveries are proposed may be subject to pre-delivery inspection to ensure safe access. Residents who request mulch to be delivered must review, sign, and return a Purchase Agreement/Liability Waiver form, before delivery can be made.
To schedule a delivery of mulch, call (805) 681-4981. Mulch may usually be delivered within one to two weeks of a request, depending upon prior delivery commitments, availability of trucking resources, and weather conditions.
Benefits of Using Mulch
There are several benefits in using mulch for your landscaping and gardening needs:
Where does the County's mulch come from?
The mulch comes from your own garden and landscape. Green waste (i.e. grass clippings, dried leaves, branches, and other organic yard trimmings) generated by residents and commercial businesses on the South Coast is collected at the curbside by private hauling companies and delivered to the SCRTS or the SYVRTS, where it is processed into mulch. The other sources of mulch come from self-hauled green waste brought to these facilities by homeowners, tree trimming and gardening services.
Who uses the County's mulch?
The mulch produced by the County is distributed to a variety of end users. The largest end use is in agricultural applications, such as avocado and citrus orchards, commercial nurseries and vineyards. The mulch is also used by a diverse group of organizations, such as the following:
Curbside green waste collected in the North County is used by the Engel and Gray Regional Composting Facility in Santa Maria as a compost feedstock.
How clean is the County's mulch?
A Quality Assurance/Control Program ensures the production of a clean product that may be safely applied to ornamentals, fruit trees, and vegetable gardens. Through their franchise agreements with the County, private solid waste hauling companies are responsible for ensuring that residentially collected green waste has a low level of contaminants. Painted and treated plywood and creosoted woods are removed prior to grinding, and electromagnets recover ferrous metals e.g. nails. Processed mulch cures for two to three days to generate enough heat to destroy some weed seeds. There may be a small amount of inert and film plastics. To date, the County has not received any complaints or anecdotal evidence that use of its mulch has resulted in any damage to plants or caused human health problems.
How much mulch will I need?
Determining the amount of mulch that you will need depends upon the size of the area you wish to apply the mulch to and the depth of application. In addition, mulch will break down over time and will need to be reapplied periodically in order to continue the benefits of its use. There are approximately 3.5 cubic yards per ton of County mulch. This ratio will vary slightly depending on the moisture content. The following general application rates may assist you in determining what your needs will be:
For home applications:
For orchard applications:
If you have any questions regarding the County's mulch program, please call Joey Costa at (805) 681-4981 or send him an e-mail message: jcosta@cosbpw.net.
Send mail to: webmaster with questions or comments about this web site. Copyright © 2000 Santa Barbara County Public Works Department Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division
Last updated: June 28, 2010
