WESTLAKE VILLAGE LOOKING AT RECYCLING OF GREEN WASTE.

Byline: Sonia Giordani Daily News Staff Writer

From weekly lawn clippings to more seasonal Christmas tree trimmings, the city's green waste could become the newest entry in Westlake Village's curbside recycling program.

Moving toward the state-mandated goal of cutting trash in half by the year 2000, Westlake Village plans to expand its 5-year-old recycling program to include organic green waste.

By diverting recyclable aluminum, glass and plastic from the landfills since 1992, the city already has reduced the city's trash by 28 percent, Planning Director Robert Theobald said.

``In order to progress toward the state goal, however, it's clear we need to take more action. The next logical step is focusing on green waste,'' Theobald said.

If approved by the City Council in the coming weeks, the program would put a second recycling container on residential curbsides for green waste and prohibit nonresidential sites from disposing of organic greens in trash containers bound for the landfill.

Theobald said the city's two trash haulers - Hillside Rubbish and Las Virgenes Disposal - have agreed to accept the cost of adding a curbside green-waste pickup in exchange for a long-term, seven-year exclusive contract which they have worked out in neighboring cities.

Theobald added that he hopes the new component will boost significantly the amount of waste diverted from landfills - the state's primary goal in implementing the Integrated Solid Waste Management Act of 1989.

Neighboring Agoura Hills adopted a curbside green-waste collection program in December 1995 with great success, said Mike Kamino, senior planner with the city of Agoura Hills.

While residential recycling hovered near 16 percent before 1995, the proportion jumped to 45 percent after the city introduced a green-waste component, he said.

In Thousand Oaks, where a long-term pilot program comparing three green-waste recycling methods has been ongoing since 1993, city officials are now considering options to expand the program.

A comprehensive study conducted on homeowners participating in the pilot program indicated that a majority favored a curbside green-waste pickup, said Carolyn Greene, environmental programs manager with the city of Thousand Oaks.

The city has managed to meet the 50 percent reduction requirement laid out by the state. But Greene said the city will focus on continuing to cut waste and to expand its recycling programs.

Next year, the city is scheduled to begin negotiations with local haulers for additional automated curbside services that would facilitate green-waste pickup.