Throughout the years, the city of Santa Clarita has gained a well-earned reputation as a safe place to live and raise a family. Thanks in great part to the dedicated deputies of our public safety partners at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Los Angeles County firefighters and the California Highway Patrol officers. Not to mention city programs and projects that combat theft, encourage pedestrian safety, bicycle safety, DUI prevention and much more.
Santa Clarita is home to many public safety and armed forces members. This year, the city is excited to announce a new campaign that highlights different heroes throughout the city. These heroes protect our environment.You heard it here first, folks – Santa Clarita is proud to introduce the Recycle Hero: a public awareness campaign designed to teach the community that anyone can protect the environment by disposing of their waste properly. Whether you are a recycling pro or are just starting – there’s never been a better time to take part in the city’s fight to recycle right!
Residents and businesses are often faced with the challenges of not knowing which items to recycle. While we all hope that any item can be repurposed, items placed in the wrong bin create extra work for our waste haulers. We must do more and recycling right is something that anyone can do! In the same way Clark Kent went from journalist to Superman, I believe we all have what it takes to become Recycle Heroes!
So what does it take to be a Recycle Hero in Santa Clarita? Recycling right, of course! It’s more than just placing plastic and glass bottles, aluminum cans and cardboard in the recycle bin. There are plenty of other ways to recycle more efficiently and create less waste. I encourage you to leave non-recyclable items out of the recycle bin. Broken furniture and garden hoses are just a few of the items that – if placed in the recycle bin – decrease the quality of Santa Clarita’s recycling stream, as additional labor and costs are required to place these items back on trucks for proper disposal. We rely on the participation of our Recycle Heroes to know which items can be recycled. You can also find ways to donate items that can still be used and buy fewer single-use items as well.
As we enter the New Year, we as a city must work together to meet our statewide goal of recycling 75% of all waste generated in Santa Clarita. We have already made tremendous progress as more than 91% of construction and demolition debris has been recycled – that’s more than 106,000 tons. Residents and businesses can do their part by making small changes to their everyday routine. Whether it’s starting a recycling program at work, teaching your children about what items are recyclable or even placing a dedicated recycling bin in different areas of the house, you can be proud knowing that you’re protecting our environment! Remember, anyone can be a Recycle Hero!
In the coming months, be sure to follow our Recycle Heroes as more faces of this exciting campaign will be revealed. You can become part of this movement by engaging with the city on social media and use the hashtag #RecycleHeroSC showing how you recycle right. For more information about the city’s efforts to preserve the environment, please visit GreenSantaClarita.com.
Bob Kellar is a member of the Santa Clarita City Council and can be reached at [email protected].
