Clean Community division launches textile drop-off, reusable-cup pilot and citywide yard-sale push

Hillary Allen, an environmental specialist in the City of Santa Barbara’s Clean Community division, told the Sustainability Committee on April 3 that the division is rolling out a regional textile diversion pilot in partnership with Homeboy Threads and will expand reuse-focused pilots this year.

Allen said California discards roughly 1.2 million tons of textiles annually and that textile streams are among the fastest-growing components of state landfills. The city's new pilot will host a dry, centralized drop-off point (currently one location at the David Love site) and plans to expand to multiple locations over time to ensure proper handling.

The division is also piloting a reusable cup program with local coffee vendor Dune Coffee. Allen said the pilot will increase discounts for customers who bring reusable cups and sell reusable clay cups made from terracotta as an alternative to single-use cups. "We're going to increase the bring your own personal cup or the for-here cup discount at Dune Coffee locations," she said.

Clean Community has revised bulky-item pickup access to allow any resident — not just the account holder on record — to schedule up to four pickups a year, a change Allen said is intended to reduce illegal dumping and serve apartment residents. The division will also host its first annual community yard sale on May 10, supplying yard signs, an interactive map of participating addresses and magnets showing local thrift and drop-off locations; Allen said nearly 60 hosts have already signed up.

Why it matters: the mix of diversion pilots, expanded bulky pickup access and neighborhood cleanups aims to reduce landfill inputs, make reuse easier for residents and improve responsiveness to neighborhood complaints.

Speakers: Hillary Allen (Environmental Specialist, Clean Community Division).