WATSONVILLE — The Watsonville landfill, which has been in use since 1962, will be filled to capacity by the end of the year, city officials announced recently.
Once that happens, the city will haul its garbage to Marina, which is about 15 miles from Watsonville.
The city has already built the change into its rate plan, so residents will not see a change to their trash collection bill.
They may, however, notice a slight change in pickup times, since the Marina facility is farther away. This could impact the street sweeping schedule.
City officials say the shift is more cost effective than processing the garbage in Watsonville.
According to Watsonville Solid Waste Division Manager Nancy Lockwood, the Monterey Regional Waste Management District has an extensive system in place for processing waste.
This includes composting food waste from restaurants and grocery stores.
The facility also operates a materials recovery facility and a construction waste recycling operation.
Additionally, the Marina landfill has a life expectancy of another 130 years.
All of this will help Watsonville meet increasingly stringent state mandates, such as a law requiring jurisdictions to keep organic waste from going to landfills by 2025.
It would cost an estimated $17 million to create a similar system here, Lockwood said.
“They have an economy of scale we can’t match,” she said. “We’re so close to a state-of-the-art facility, the question is, what’s best for Watsonville.”
The City of Watsonville will continue to bring a small amount of trash to its landfill until 2019, when it will be capped, Lockwood said.
After that, it must be monitored for at least three decades, she said.
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Watsonville recycling programs
Watsonville’s landfill, which lies between the confluence of Buena Vista Drive and San Andreas Road, has long been the final stop for the city’s refuse.
But the journey begins at the Municipal Services Center at 320 Harvest Drive, where workers sort and process every bit of reusable and recyclable material.
That starts at the Treasure Corner, where useful items ranging from DVDs to couches to scuba gear to golf clubs are rescued and sold to residents for no more than $5.
Lockwood said she had wanted to create the shop for more than a decade. It is based on a larger one at the Marina landfill.
The idea is not to make money, but to keep as many things as possible from going into the landfill, she said.
“We literally pull things out of the garbage that people throw away,” she said. “It hurts me when you see things like this go in the garbage.”
It is also at the Municipal Services Center that cardboard is sorted and baled for shipment to China. Metal, electronics, hazardous chemicals and other things all have their own destinations.
The center opened around the year 2000 to give Watsonville residents a place to bring their unwanted items, and an easy way to dispose of them.
“When this opened we saw a big decrease in illegal dumping,” she said.
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Businesses looking to bolster their recycling programs, save space and reduce their trash bills can call the city at 768-3133. A staffer will come with help and suggestions.
The Treasure Corner is located at the city municipal yard at 320 Harvest Drive. It is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.
