Santa Barbara County recognized for
outstanding waste management
The Santa Barbara County Public Works Department has
received the Solid Waste Association of Northern America’s 2008 Gold Excellence
Award for integrated waste management, according to William Boyer, director of
communications for Santa Barbara County.
The association recognizes excellence in solid waste
management programs that promote social, environmental and economically sound
management principles.
The award was presented July 7 to the Santa Barbara County
Public Works Department’s Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division,
which also won the association’s Silver Excellence Award for landfill management
in 2001.
The Solid Waste
Association’s presentation message said that “this is no small accomplishment,
given the excellent quality of this year’s nominations and the challenges faced
by many of the program and operations in the solid waste industry.”
“In 1995, our
diversion rate was only 30 percent. Today, the county is at 69 percent — making
us one of the leaders for waste management recycling in California,” said Salud Carbajal, District 1
supervisor and chairman of the county’s board of supervisors. “Our public works
employees who have worked so hard with the community to achieve success are to
be congratulated for receiving this national award.”
“Our integrated
waste management is complex, but our guiding vision is led by the simple
principle of supporting an environmentally-sustainable community,” said Scott McGolpin, public works department director.
“We embrace the philosophy ‘reduce, reuse and recycle,’
but we’re constantly looking for innovative ways to convert more waste, recycle
more and produce green energy for a healthy and safe community.”