Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Recology Diversion And Public Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Recology reports 38.17% countywide diversion in Q1; seeks input on 2025–26 public-education theme
Summary
Recology’s zero-waste manager presented first-quarter diversion rates across Hollister, San Juan Bautista and unincorporated San Benito County and outlined a draft public-education plan that emphasizes waste reduction and continued outreach for SB 1383 compliance.
Adrian Sagun, zero-waste manager with Recology San Benito County, presented first-quarter diversion data and a draft public-education plan to the Integrated Waste Management local task force on June 6.
Sagun reported diversion rates of 40.61% in Hollister, 53.99% in San Juan Bautista and 30.54% in unincorporated San Benito County, yielding an overall diversion rate of 38.17% for the first quarter. He said Recology continued contamination-tagging for residential accounts and that commercial outreach included 203 site visits and 102 waste assessments in the quarter.
Sagun told the task force Recology is seeing early compliance with SB 1383 and full compliance with AB 1826 and AB 341 requirements for mandatory organics recycling and mandatory commercial recycling, respectively. He said Recology’s commercial outreach produced three new organics service starts and 11 new or increased recycling accounts in the quarter.
On public education, Sagun said Recology will refine its messaging for the 2025–26 public-education plan and asked the task force to weigh in on a new theme that focuses on waste reduction and increased diversion from John Smith Road Landfill. He said the plan will continue to highlight both corrective actions (contamination tagging) and positive reinforcement (recognizing residents and businesses that recycle correctly). The draft public-education plan was described as under review by IWM staff with an expected finalization date of July 1.
During a brief Q&A a task force member asked how Recology calculated its in-kind donations, listed on a slide as $4,208 in services. Sagun explained those donations typically reflect waived services such as roll-off containers and the associated pick-up and disposal provided for community cleanups and events; the task force member asked staff to provide examples of the events supporting that valuation in future reports.
Sagun and task force members also discussed outreach channels used (bill inserts, social media, event tabling) and youth-focused programs including a poster contest run with El Teatro Campesino and school presentations. The presentation was informational; no formal action was taken on this item.
