Inaugural Shredding & Compost  Giveaway Event A Success

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                             
June 16, 2022  

CONTACT: Noelani Middenway, District Clerk & Public Information Officer
TELEPHONE: (949) 645-8400 ext. 227
EMAIL: nmiddenway@cmsdca.gov

(Costa Mesa – CA) Nearly 700 Costa Mesa residents took advantage of the first-ever community Shredding and Compost Giveaway event this past Saturday, June 11. The drive-thru event was hosted by the Costa Mesa Sanitary District (CMSD), in partnership with the City of Costa Mesa, Newport Mesa Unified School District and CR&R Environmental Services.

Altogether, residents brought over 11,000 pounds (or 5.5 tons) of unwanted paper to shred and recycle. Three shredding trucks were present at the event to shred the material, which was then transported to a recycling facility.

Additionally, CMSD gave away 35,640 pounds of compost at the event. Each household was eligible to take home up to two 30-pound bags of compost, which was produced from organic waste, a combination of green waste and food scraps, that is collected from residents’ homes. CMSD’s contracted trash hauler, CR&R, collects over 10,000 tons of organic waste annually through the curbside Organics Recycling Program. The organics are transported to CR&R’s anaerobic digestion facility in Perris, California where they are converted into compost and renewable natural gas to fuel CR&R’s collection fleet.

“This inaugural event is a great demonstration of how public agencies and the private sector can collaborate to close the loop on recycling and protect the environment,” said Board President Bob Ooten.  “We greatly appreciate our partners, the City of Costa Mesa, Newport Mesa Unified School District and CR&R Environmental Services for their cooperation and willingness to participate in this community event.”

President Ooten added that the overwhelming success of this event demonstrated the need for such opportunities within the community and that organizers will being working soon to schedule another Shredding and Compost Giveaway event in 2023.

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About CMSD: Formed in 1944, CMSD is an independent special district that provides solid waste and wastewater collection services to a population of approximately 116,700 in Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, and unincorporated Orange County. For more information and the latest CMSD news, visit www.cmsdca.gov and follow CMSD on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. To get in touch with CMSD staff, email info@cmsdca.gov or call (949) 645- 8400.