SYCEO and Solid Waste
Waste, trash, garbage – regardless of the name you use, it remains a significant challenge encountered by all businesses, households, organizations, and governments alike. The knowledge of how to appropriately minimize, repurpose, recycle, and discard used materials is a universal concern. From the simple decision of which bin to toss your coffee cup into, to understanding the proper disposal location for used batteries, the Santa Ynez Chumash Environmental Office (SYCEO) provides the necessary support and tools to efficiently manage waste-related tasks.
SYCEO offers a variety of services dedicated to waste management. The primary objective of our initiatives is to minimize the use of materials in production processes while promoting the reuse and recycling of alternative materials.
Hazardous and e-Waste
As much as 90% of hazardous and e-waste ends up in the landfill, causing major environmental harm to water supplies and surrounding land. Hazardous waste is defined as materials that contain toxic substances and includes common items such as batteries, cleaning products, automotive fluids, fluorescent bulbs, and more. E-Waste, or electronic waste, is defined as devices that require electricity to operate and include common items such as toasters, cell phones, computers, etc. These items usually require special collection and disposal events. SYCEO offers e-waste collection services for the Tribal Government, Health Clinic, in addition to information about collection events in the area. To learn more about upcoming collection events for Santa Barbara County, visit Less Is More.
Composting
Organic waste, such as food scraps, attribute to 63% of the methane gas emissions in a typical landfill. Methane is a particularly bad greenhouse gas with 25 more global warming potential as carbon dioxide. Composting organic waste offers a valuable alternative that greatly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and provides a nutrient rich soil amendment.
SYCEO composts the organic waste at Tribal Hall and uses the results to amend the sustainable landscaping around the Tribal Hall. Composting also provides cost savings in the form of reduced waste hauling fees and soil amendment purchasing.
SYCEO offers several waste diversion and disposal services to the Chumash community and Tribal Administration operations.