CITY DIVERTING 48% OF TRASH FROM LANDFILLS : PUBLIC MEETING.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

Three years before a state deadline to reduce trash, local recycling efforts have nearly cut in half the amount of waste the city sends to landfills, officials said Tuesday.

Currently, the city has a 48 percent diversion rate, said Santa Clarita spokeswoman Gail Ortiz.

Since 1990, cities and counties in California have been required by state law to scale back the amount of waste dumped in landfills - by 25 percent by 1995 and 50 percent by 2000, Ortiz said.

``Residents are working really hard,'' said Dennis Luppens, acting solid waste coordinator for the city's Waste Management Division. In 1990, when all cities and counties had to submit trash consumption figures to the state, Santa Clarita sent 185,589 tons of garbage to the landfill, he said.

Although figures for 1996 are still being tabulated, city officials estimate that Santa Clarita sent 124,000 tons of trash to the landfill - a considerable improvement considering the city's population growth over that same six-year span, Luppens said.

Last year, Santa Clarita's recycling program was expanded to include the curbside pickup of yard trimmings and the acceptance of a wider range of materials for recycling, Luppens said. Curbside recycling was instituted citywide in 1991.

Now residents can separate their trash into three bins for weekly curbside pickup: the 30-gallon green recycling bin for glass, plastic, aluminum, newspapers, etc.; the 64-gallon yard waste bin for lawn trimmings, leaves, tree branches, etc.; and the 90-gallon trash bin for nonrecyclable refuse, Luppens said.

The recycling program was expanded last year to include the acceptance of cardboard milk cartons, squeeze juice boxes, junk mail and plastic items stamped with the No. 2 and 6 recycling symbols, Luppens said.

Another incentive to throw out less and recycle more has been the 90-gallon limit - each household is limited to 90 gallons of trash per week for their $22.13 monthly collection fee, Luppens said. If they have too much rubbish to fit into their allotted bin, they must pay an extra $11 a month to be issued a second 90-gallon bin.

The amount of recyclables that residents can discard per week is unlimited, however. ``We'd prefer that (residents) look at the way they manage their trash. Find a way to keep it under 90 gallons, and move all that extra stuff into the recycling bin,'' Luppens said.

Waste Management Division officials have scheduled a meeting for 3 p.m. Saturday at Canyon High School to gather public input on proposed tiered trash collection rates. For example, small households could opt for a 30- or 60-gallon trash bin and corresponding discounted rates. ``If you're a single person living alone, you don't need a 90-gallon trash bin,'' Luppens said.

WHAT:Discussion of proposed tiered trash collection rates

Sponsored by the Waste Management Division

WHEN:3 p.m., Saturday

WHERE:Canyon High School