Recycling

Laguna Beach has yet to meet the state's mandate to reduce trash sent to landfills by 50%, and it may get more difficult for the city to meet targets if proposed legislation is passed upping the required diversion to 75%. The City Council unanimously approved a staff recommendation at the Sept. 19 meeting to research construction and demolition recycling ordinances in other communities and draft one for Laguna. "A major opportunity exists for meeting the state's waste diversion goals by developing a construction and demolition program," said Liz Avila, city administrative analyst, who presented a report to the council on the city's status and the potential repercussions of not meeting the state mandate.

For a company whose upbeat slogan is “Think Green,” Waste Management seems to be letting down a lot of Laguna Beach residents. Out of some 10,000 residential addresses in Laguna, a small but significant number — 280 — do not receive recycling service from Waste Management, even though the giant trash hauler’s contract with the city of Laguna Beach requires the service be provided to all residential customers....

Barbara Diamond Faced with the possibility of $10,000-a-day fines, the City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to take actions to meet the state mandate for diverting waste from landfills. The city has fallen behind on the state's 50% diversion requirement and has until the end of this year to catch up. Failure could lead to the hefty fines or forced implementation of state-dictated programs that have little consideration for local conditions.

As was recently discussed at a Laguna Beach City Council meeting, the "diversion rate" — or amount of material that is kept out of landfills due to recycling or waste reduction — within the city has fallen short of the 50% mandate from the state. As of 2004, the latest figures available, the city's diversion rate is 46%. There are two clear obstacles to helping the city reach this diversion goal: "illegal haulers" and recycling among businesses. Waste Management of Orange County is the contracted waste hauler for the city of Laguna Beach, which means we provide services and programs for the city's residents and businesses, and we also implement recycling programs to ensure materials we collect from places such as construction sites are taken to a facility to be sorted and recycled, rather than straight to the landfill.

Dozens of El Morro and Top of the World students got trashy Tuesday at Waste Management’s Irvine Transfer Station, where they spent part of Earth Day learning about recycling. Dressed in hard hats and oversized neon yellow vests, the kids watched recycling trucks deposit their goods in a cavernous, arena-style space, then took turns clambering into a parked truck to honk its very loud horn. “What better way to celebrate Earth Day than hanging out in our own trash and debris?

The Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot went to Top of the World Elementary School and asked students in Susan Dick's fifth-grade class, 'Why is recycling important?' "So we don't waste stuff that we don't use -- and so we don't have to keep on making stuff." ZAC LEBON, 11 "So we don't have to cut down more trees. I like to walk on trails, and the trails are going out because they're cutting down all the trees." MATT O'BRIEN, 11 "It's important for our environment, so we can have a nicer community without trash everywhere."

Time for action on poor cell phone service Does your cell phone get reception in your Laguna Beach home? Cell phones are more than a convenience for most of us, particularly in times of fire or storms. I live near the Montage Resort and my cell has never had reception in my home. My neighbors and I have found that we may sporadically receive reception while standing in our street; a location that certainly is not conducive to business conversations. The other day I was at home expecting an important call on my cell.

Laguna Beach wants to join a growing number of cities and counties in the nation taking aim at polystyrene, those plastic foam containers that are so ubiquitous at fast-food outlets. The City Council recently voted to craft an ordinance that would prohibit restaurants, markets or other retail outlets from serving food in single-use, non-recyclable plastic or polystyrene containers. The food outlets would also be required to provide recycling receptacles for those containers that can be recycled.

Hanos to be feted at event Saturday Bonnie and Arnold Hano will be honored Saturday as Village Laguna?s 2009 Villagers of the Year for their commitment to enhancing of the quality of life for Laguna Beach residents and for their participation in the community. The Hanos moved to Laguna Beach in 1955 and were among a group of residents who began Village Laguna in 1971. The party will be from 3 to 6:30 p.m. at Sally and Jeff Jameson?s home, 494 El Camino Del Mar. The public is invited.

Forget high fashion. Reused and recycled couture were the talk of the town Saturday at the Festival of Arts' fourth annual fashion show. Twelve artists created dramatic fashions out of cardboard, newspaper, old pot scrubbers, CDs, music tape - just about any recyclable item. Festivalgoers were stunned with the finished creations and were often heard murmuring "wow" and "oh" throughout the show. There was the "Light Bulb Moment" design, which was made from "corrugated cardboard found in a local dumpster at midnight," according to the artist, Dagmar Chaplin.

Laguna Beach welcomes more than 6 million visitors annually to its sandy shores. Now visitors who stay in the city's 22 hotels and lodging establishments will be inadvertent participants in a citywide effort to recycle all of the soaps, shampoos, hair conditioners, lotions and bath gels that are left over after a night's stay. Starting Monday, Laguna Beach became the first city in the nation to have all of its hotel properties with more than 20 rooms participate in Clean the World, a Florida-based nonprofit that provides recycled hotel soaps and hygiene products to those in need.

The crowds keep on coming at the Festival of Arts. Two events last weekend brought in a record number of visitors - a fashion show and a meet and greet with "Criminal Minds" cast members. The upcoming Acura Celebrity Event on Saturday, hosted by singer-songwriter Richard Marx, is also expected to lure plenty of visitors to the festival, which ends its season Wednesday. * Re(f)use to Runway The popular Festival Runway Fashion show, in its third year, drew its biggest crowd ever Saturday.

The South Coast Water District customers can comment on the district's updated Urban Water Management Plan by e-mail, regular mail or at two meetings. The proposed update details how drinking water will be provided in the next 30 years and will be voted on at the June 23 board meeting. Once adopted, the plan will be incorporated into the management plan of Metropolitan Water District of Sothern California, which supplies imported water to the district. The deadline to submit comments is 5 p.m. June 23. Comments can be sent to custserv@scwd.org or South Coast Water District, P. O. Box 30205, Laguna Niguel, CA. 92607.

Reuse Jeans, an eco-friendly denim company with its flagship shop in Laguna Beach, started when owner George Powell's son, Luke, asked him a good question. "We were taking bottles and cans to the recycling center in Dana Point, and he asked why we recycle," Powell said. "I said we do it to preserve the earth for our children and our children's children. " Luke looked up and asked, "Why don't we recycle everything?" A partner in a factory in mainland China, Powell produced jeans for Diesel, 7 For All Mankind, Rock & Republic, American Eagle and many other familiar names in the denim industry.

Garbage, recycling delay for Labor Day Waste Management of Orange County's commercial and curbside residential trash and recycling pick-up schedule will be delayed by one day and will not operate on Sept. 6, in observance of Labor Day. Receptacles should be placed for pickup one day later than usual. "Customers who usually receive service on Monday will instead receive it Tuesday, and so on throughout the week, with Friday's customers receiving service on Saturday," said David Ross, director of public sector services.

College Hunks Hauling Junk, a full-service junk removal company, opened a new franchise in Laguna Beach this month. Aaron Kube, owner and operator of the Laguna branch, has been a longtime resident of Laguna Beach. Although he has always liked the idea of working for himself, his decision to open a new business didn?t come immediately. It was while working at his previous job in construction that he realized he could be his own boss doing similar tasks with a junk removal company.

“Summertime…and the living is easy…” lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward Another song from this musical comes to mind as I write and causes me to smile, “It Ain’t Necessarily So.” The fullness of summertime — with both ease and hardship — is upon us. Big surf, heavy traffic, muggy heat and a certain slowness that seems fostered by all of these fill the days and nights in...