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UPDATE - Date of Posting - 12/16/2020 NOTE: Per California State Law - Treated Wood Waste (TWW) Will No Longer Be Accepted at the Buena Vista Landfill or Ben Lomond Transfer Station after 12/31/2020. Visit dtsc.ca.gov/toxics-in-products/treated-wood-waste/ for more information.
Treated wood waste (TWW) comes from wood that has been treated with chemical preservatives. These chemicals help protect the wood from insect attack and fungal decay while it’s being used. Fence posts, sill plates, landscape timbers, pilings, guardrails, and decking, to name a few, are all examples of chemically treated wood.
Note: The statutes (HSC 25150.7) and regulations (22 CCR 67386.1 et seq.) that allow treated wood waste to be handled with alternative management standards are due to expire after December 31, 2020. After that date, all hazardous treated wood waste managed in California will have to be stored and manifested as hazardous waste and transported to class I hazardous waste landfills for disposal. The County of Santa Cruz will reject all loads containing TWW. Any loads found containing TWW will be subject to return to the customer, penalties, and potential criminal violations of illegal disposal of hazardous materials by regulatory agency.
Because TWW contains hazardous chemicals, at elevated levels, it is subject to California’s Hazardous Waste Control Law. Generators of TWW can presume their TWW is hazardous waste. Until December 31, 2020, Generators can manage their TWW in accordance with the alternative management standards, including disposal at approved non-hazardous waste landfills as they become non-hazardous waste pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 25150.8
CZU Fire Information: Place only household items into your curbside carts. Fire damaged items are considered hazardous and cannot be placed in curbside carts. Please visit the County's Fire Recovery Website for more information regarding the CZU Fires and the Debris Removal and Rebuilding processes.
Note: You may file an Exemption from Phase II cleanup with Environmental Health (must have approval from Environmental Health first) if you have a structure and the only burn debris on the parcel is from non-residential structures less than 120 sqft., fences, and/or non-structural wood material. Click here for more information on the exemption program.
Santa Cruz County Recycling & Trash Services is responsible for the operation and administration of solid waste diversion and disposal in the unincorporated area of the County. We operate the County’s two solid waste facilities, the Buena Vista Landfill west of Watsonville and the Ben Lomond Transfer Station in the San Lorenzo Valley.
Recycling & Trash employs 49 operations and administration staff who are dedicated to providing quality service to the general public. We collaborate with local non-profit agencies to carry out community public education and waste reduction programs.
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We are charged with many public service
responsibilities including:
- Operation of landfill and transfer station disposal and recycling services and household hazardous waste collection
- Development of programs designed to meet statewide diversion goals and other mandates, including the diversion of food waste and other organic material
- Implement the County’s Zero Waste Plan designed to achieve a 75% reduction in landfill disposal by 2010 and additional reductions in future years.
- Landfill design and engineering
- Liaison and reporting to a variety of state and federal agencies regarding solid waste facilities compliance and pollution control programs
- Heavy equipment fleet maintenance
- Administration of garbage and recycling collection franchise services
- Advance planning for future solid waste and recycling programs and facilities including implementation of the County's Integrated Waste Management Recovery Plan