"It's everyone's civic duty to recycle," City Solid Waste Project Coordinator Belinda Barbour said. "Recycling is a major part of the city's community."
The Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 requires every city and county to divert from landfill to recovery facilities at least 50 percent of their waste by 2000.
Barstow was the only city in the High Desert to not only meet the state's requirements, but exceed them in 2000.
Each year the city sends an annual report on its progress to the management board, Barbour said.
"It's critical for the city to make sure we maintain our 50 percent diversion rate," Barbour said.
A new ordinance effective in 2004 will require more from construction and demolition recycling if the diversion rate doesn't stay above 50 percent, arbour said. Contractors will be responsible for developing a plan to divert and recycle demolition debris. That plan, in turn, must be approved by the city.
"The ordinance will make it more costly for builders to process solid waste," Barbour said.
"The bottom line is not to drop below the diversion rate," Barbour said. "We have to recycle now or all these other programs kick in."
The diversion rate is based on the recovery of both residential and commercial waste, Barbour said.
Residential recycling, however, is more difficult when it comes to multi-family unit dwellings or apartment complexes because space and access is limited.
"A majority of them are recycling, but some facilities don't have space to accommodate additional bins," Barbour said. "Some of them don't have access to the bins and we like to get the trucks in.
"Old apartment complexes are just not designed to accommodate trash and recycle bins. Where practical and possible we encourage complexes to place bins and get tenants to recycle."
Some local apartment communities have not been deterred by limited space and access and are on board with their recycling programs.
"We have two green recycling bins on site and we've dropped our outgoing trash by at least one bin a week," Sallie Rothwell, business manager of Virginia Terrace Apartments, said.
"A good part of our tenants recycle," Rothwell said. "I'd say about half sort their milk jugs from their regular trash."
Property manager Yolanda Armijo of Rimrock Village Apartments said her tenants have been recycling as well.
"It's really helped a lot and I appreciate that," Armijo said. "I couldn't imagine what it would be like if we didn't have the (recycling) bins."
The property manager of Broadway, Desert Wind and Casa Del Sol Apartments has jumped onto the recycling bandwagon, too.
"Tenants put their recyclables in one bin and their trash in the other," manager Nick Sinaway said. "Everything's worked out well so far."
If apartment complexes recycle, property managers can significantly lower their trash bills, Barbour said. Trash is calculated differently on the monthly trash bill and recycables are picked up for a lower rate.
"With tenants constantly moving in and out, it's difficult to harness a solid recycling program within apartment complexes," Barbour said. "We try to capture tenants whenever and however we can."
New apartment complexes in the area are required to have recycling as part of the planning, Barbour said.
"It's my job to make sure that they are in compliance with all the solid waste requirements and follow the municipal code on trash and recycling," Barbour said. "Recycling is such a small step that can have such a big impact on the community." – The Desert Dispatch