State Waste Board Announces Organics Regulations Workshop.

Business Editors/Environment Writers

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 30, 2000

Reservations for the Compostable Organic Materials Regulations Development Workshop are now being accepted by the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB).

The Board is announcing eight workshops scheduled statewide from Redding to San Diego. Each workshop will provide participants with the opportunity to review, discuss and make comments on the current recommendations for regulatory oversight and enforcement at compostable organic materials handling sites.

The workshop is designed specifically for composting facility operators, agricultural processors, compostable material stockpilers or users including wood waste chippers and grinders, Local Enforcement Agencies, local government and all other interested parties. Discussions will focus on operating environmentally sound and community friendly organic material handling operations and facilities in California.

"Composting and other organics facilities are an important part of California's resource management infrastructure," said Waste Board Char Linda Moulton-Patterson. "The Board intends to approve regulation that will ensure these operations are good neighbors in their communities and in the environment."

There have been several recent revisions to the regulations addressing new issues of statewide significance. The proposed regulations will meet in part the legislative mandate of SB 675, which requires the Waste Board to implement appropriate odor management recommendations.

More than 35 percent of the waste stream in California are compostable organic materials. At present, there are more than 100 regulated composting sites operating statewide, not to mention countless chipping and grinding operations. To meet the state's 50 percent diversion goal by the end of this year, industry and local government expect the number of these sites and the volume of material they handle to continue increasing.

The workshops are free. They are scheduled in Merced (July 6), San Jose (July 11), Bakersfield (July 13), Redding (July 27), Ventura (August 1), San Diego (August 2), Riverside (August 3), and Sacramento (August 8).

The Compostable Organic Materials Regulations Workshop applications are available by contacting COMRD Coordinators Brian Larimore or Jeff Watson at 916/255-2475 or 916/255-3850 or by e-mail to [e-mail]. Completed applications must be received no later than June 30, 2000.

Information is also online at www.ciwmb.ca.gov/organics/.

The six-member Integrated Waste Management Board is responsible for protecting the public's health and safety and the environment through management of the estimated 56 million tons of solid waste generated in California each year. The Board's mandate is to work in partnership with local government, industry, and the public to achieve a 50 percent reduction in waste disposed by the end of this year, while ensuring environmentally safe landfill disposal capacity.

The Waste Board is one of six boards and departments within the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA).

Visit us on the Internet at www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Pressroom.