Bakersfield Life

Green innovation

larger view

      Each week, many of us find ourselves in our yards, trimming bushes, cutting the grass or getting rid of those stubborn weeds competing in our flowerbeds.
      And if we don’t have time for the detailed work, then we turn to our gardeners who can find themselves pretty busy taking care of our green waste. But where do these green waste materials end up?
      The materials deposited into the bins or loaded into trucks can end up at the green waste facility located at 2601 South Mt. Vernon Ave., south of Highway 58.
     The Mt. Vernon Recycling and Composting Facility was opened in an effort to divert recyclable yard and wood materials from the landfills. By turning the green waste received at the facility into useable materials, such as compost and mulch, much-needed space at area landfills is saved for future use.
      “The Mount Vernon Green Waste Facility is the key to the City's recycling efforts. It was established in response to state mandates for jurisdictions to reach 50 percent recycling goals,” said Sal Moretti, superintendent for the city’s Solid Waste Division.
      When the green waste facility first opened its doors in the early 1990s, it was located on roughly five acres and operated by only two City of Bakersfield employees. As a result of Bakersfield’s rapid growth and an increase in the facility’s popularity, the Mt. Vernon Recycling and Composting Facility is now operated on 97 acres by 38 City of Bakersfield staff members.
      While the green waste from the pick-up service offered by the city and metro county area is delivered to the green waste facility, local landscapers, construction crews and other self-haulers also take their clean brush, grass, tree trimmings and lumber free of charge.
      Juan Rodrigues and Pete Hernandez are two of those self-haulers.
      “We take material to the facility because the green bins fill up quite easily,” Rodrigues said. “As much yard work as I do, it would take several weeks for all the green waste to be picked up using the bins. I also don’t want to contribute to littering the streets and clogging storm drains by leaving trash out so the winds blow it everywhere.”
      Hernandez said he also takes material to the green waste facility when there is no more room in the green waste container.
      “Taking the material to the green waste facility is just as important as recycling,” Hernandez said. “I believe most of the material we take to the facility can be reused and converted to mulch or fertilizer.”
     Moretti said that of the 500 tons of material received daily, half is composted on site and  sold. About a quarter of the material goes to the private compost facility in Taft. The remaining material goes to a local co-generation facility in Delano to generate electricity.
      Moretti said that the benefits of the facility are hard to quantify because there are so many.
     “More recycling means less landfilling, which means less waste. In addition, the air quality is improved because the compost process eliminates the creation of harmful methane gases,” Moretti said. “The compost created aids the soil quality tremendously, helping local agriculture increase crop yields while at the same time requiring less water. By using waste products for electricity, expensive and environmentally degrading mining is also reduced.”
     Because of recent facility modifications harmful diesel emissions have been eliminated from stationary equipment, which further improves air quality.
     Moretti wants to remind people that throwing any trash on the side of the roads or in a field is illegal and blight to neighborhoods.
     “For those who throw green waste in their tan cart, remember that the green cart is free and simple and it is preserving our environment,” Moretti said.
      While the green cans are for organic yard waste items such as tumbleweeds, large stumps, dirt and trash should not be thrown in the cart.
      The green waste facility is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., seven days a week. It is closed on New Years Day, Easter, July 4th, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. To learn more about what materials are and are not accepted at the facility or to look up pricing for compost or ground cover visit http://www.bakersfieldcity.us/cityservices/pubwrks/solidwaste/index.htm.