Kern County Waste Management

Recycling

Why Bury the Problem?

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It’s a fact:
Reducing the amount of garbage you throw away conserves natural resources and preserves the environment around us. But, did you know, California state law mandates that we reduce the amount of trash we dump into landfills?

 

 

In 1989, the California Integrated Waste Management Act was passed to encourage recycling. AB 939, as it is commonly known, required California cities and counties to reduce the amount of garbage going to landfills by 50% by the year 2000, or face penalties of up to $10,000 per day! The best way to reduce the amount of material being buried is to increase the amount of material being recycled. To date, several municipalities have been fined for non-compliance.

Since that landmark legislation, several other laws have been put into effect including the Bottle Law, the Bag Law, the Universal Waste Law and the E-Waste Law among others. For more information on these important laws, check out http://www.kerncountywaste.com/recycling-legislation.

Kern County Waste Management has implemented a variety of programs to increase waste recycling. Residents and businesses can avail themselves to a voluntary curbside recycling, community drop-off recycling, buy-back recycling and disposal site recycling programs. Not all programs are available in all communities. Check out the Kern County Recycling Guide to check out the recycling program available in your community. In addition to the ongoing programs, the County supports seasonal programs as well including The Telephone Book and Christmas Tree Recycling Programs.

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For a complete overview of Kern County Recycling opportunities, check out the Recycling Guide in the at&t Smart Yellow Pages telephone book or click on the RECYCLING GUIDE link: icon Kern County Recycling Guide (3.94 MB)

 

The Kern County Telephone Book Recycling program has been around since 1988. This annual effort gleans thousands of books from landfill burial. The program is facilitated through a partnership between the Waste Management Department, Community Clean Sweep and AT&T. It is a strong educational outreach due to the rich relationship with area elementary schools. Residents can recycle telephone books at more than a dozen  local elementary schools each spring, and at most Community Drop-off Recycling Centers throughout the year. Curbside Recycling participants can place outdated directories in their curbside recycling containers.

THE 2012 TELEPHONE BOOK RECYCLING PROGRAM LOCATIONS

 icon 2012 Telephone Book Recycling Locations (38.8 kB)

 

The Christmas Tree Recycling Program is a collaborative effort between the department, municipalities and area community groups which takes place the three weeks following Christmas. There are several recycling options for Kern County Residents:

  • County Disposal Sites with an existing wood recovery program accept trees for recycling.
  • Residents can also take cut trees to City of Bakersfield's Greenwaste Facility.
  • Metro-Bakersfield residents can cut their tree into small pieces and place it into the green waste container as long as the lid of the container closes. Please remove nails, decorations, stands and tree bags.
  • There are numerous drop-off locations throughout the county. See the link below to find Christmas Tree drop-off locations & tree pick-up organizations.
  • There are several local non-profit community organizations in Metro-Bakersfield who will pick up your tree for a fee.See the link below to find Christmas Tree drop-off locations & tree pick-up organizations.

Most of the trees collected are ground and used as erosion control, co-generation fuel or as a bulking agent for compost.

icon 2011-2012 Christmas Tree Drop-Off Locations & Tree Pickup Organizations (31.68 kB)

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2700 M Street, Suite 500, Bakersfield, California 93301