Yorba Linda plans trash waste education program for organics; Placentia-Yorba Linda school district lists campus-by-campus coronavirus infections

 

An educational program to alert Yorba Linda residents to new state-mandated regulations to separate kitchen food scraps from regular trash waste is on the drawing boards, financed by a grant from California's Resources Recycling and Recovery Department (CalRecycle).

Under a state law effective Jan. 1, all organic waste must be collected separately from the trash that is currently collected in the black containers provided by the city's longtime trash hauler, Republic Services.

Although the law is already on the books, Yorba Linda officials are advising residents to continue disposing of food waste in the regular trash barrels. New rules regarding trash disposal will be communicated to residents through the educational outreach program.

Officials are meeting with Republic Services personnel to determine how best to collect and recycle the organic waste. Residents who are already composting food waste are advised “to keep up the good work.”

Businesses and multi-family complexes that are not already in compliance with the law are asked to contact the recycling coordinator at Republic Services (Kate Schlentz at 714-238-3342) for more information.

The state grant is anticipated to total some $90,000, with funds expected to be received by the city April 1, if the city's application meets CalRecycle's March 1 funding deadline.

According to a report by Jamie Lai, the city's public works director and city engineer, the new organic waste disposal ruling “is the most significant waste reduction mandate adopted in the state...in the last 30 years....”

She said the regulations in Senate Bill 1383, “outline specific requirements related to organics collection, edible food recovery and compliance tracking and monitoring.” The law is expected to reduce organic waste disposal by 75% and increase edible food recovery by 25% by 2025.

The statewide program aims to reduce the methane released from organic waste in landfills.

* * *

An informative report on positive COVID-19 cases among students and staff at the 34 campuses and the district office in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District is updated each school day on the district website (pylusd.org, click “COVID-19 dashboard”).

The dashboard lists the number of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases within a 10-day period, with the numbers for students and staff listed separately for each of the district's 34 campuses.

Two separate columns also list the total number of students and staff at each site and the proportion of each school's population with confirmed positive cases.

According to the dashboard page: “In the event that a student or staff member is identified as a close contact to a COVID-19 positive individual, they will be contacted directly by their school principal or a staff member. Individuals will receive a letter that may include self-isolation directions and other important information.”