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Mid Valley Disposal reports contaminants, diversion rates and cleanup tonnages to Kingsburg council
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Summary
Mid Valley Disposal told the Kingsburg City Council it conducted 153 commercial side assessments, 79 multifamily visits and 230 residential visits in 2025, reported 220 driver contamination tags and that plastic bags, Styrofoam and food waste are the top contaminants; the company also summarized cleanup-event tonnages and a 38% diversion rate for a recent event.
Thomas Hammond, recycling programs manager for Mid Valley Disposal, told the Kingsburg City Council on March 18 that the company increased outreach and enforcement work across the city in 2025 and identified plastic bags, Styrofoam and food waste as the most frequent contaminants.
Hammond said side assessments—which involve a recycle coordinator visiting businesses to check streams and educate staff—covered 153 commercial businesses, 79 multifamily properties and 230 residential homes last year. Driver audits, he said, generated 204 residential and 16 commercial contamination tags, for 220 total driver-reported tags.
The update included community engagement activities such as the car show, Saint Lucia parade and Swedish Fest, and recognized the Kingsburg supermarket as the 2025 "Recycler of the Year," Hammond said. He also named Juana Vasquez as the local recycle coordinator who conducts on-site education.
In a separate cleanup-event report, Peter Rangel, operations manager, said a three-day fall cleanup processed 11 loads and served 526 customers. Rangel provided event tonnages: 4.5 tons of mattresses, 480 pounds of tires, 90 pounds of lead waste, 20.63 tons of metal and a stated diversion rate of 38% for that event. He also summarized annual sector totals, reporting commercial refuse and commercial organics and residential diversion rates (detailed numbers were read into the record).
When council members asked whether a pending state producer-responsibility bill (discussed in the presentation) would lower hauling costs, Hammond said the bill shifts obligations to manufacturers and could increase costs for haulers and producers who must collect and move noncompliant material. "It is a producer responsibility requirement," Hammond said, adding that the commodities market is variable and markets sometimes require haulers to pay to ship materials.
Hammond said CalRecycle's enforcement branch (JACE) is expected to audit Fresno County jurisdictions in the first half of the year and that the city's EAR (enforcement and annual report) is due April 1. He said he will work with Public Works Director Daniel Galvez to prepare records for any upcoming audit.
The council and Mid Valley staff confirmed a two-week cleanup schedule beginning Thursday, with daily hours provided; the service is free for Kingsburg residents and is hosted at the Mid Valley Disposal yard.
The presentation was informational; no council action was required.
