You’ve Got a Friend in Environmental Services!
Mayor Jason Gibbs
Did you know that You’ve Got a Friend at City Hall looking out for your and your family’s well-being by working to improve our environment now and into the future? Every day in Santa Clarita, City staff work to enhance the quality of life we enjoy and uphold a simple philosophy: to deliver the best and most cost-efficient municipal service to the residents of Santa Clarita. One of the teams that has a big job to do, to not only keep Santa Clarita clean and green, but to also keep up with local and state regulations, is the City’s Environmental Services Division. The Environmental Services Division provides programs and services that help us all live sustainably, which is more important now than ever before. In a nutshell, the staff in Environmental Services work on projects, programs and events that focus on water quality, proper waste disposal, energy efficiency, air quality and many other vital topics that are important for sustainability now and for generations to come. But what specifically does the Environmental Services team do? Let’s take a closer look!
The Environmental Services Division consists primarily of a Stormwater team and a Solid Waste team. The Stormwater team works on projects and programs in alignment with various local and state regulations and permits, which focus on water quality. Staff members on this team look for projects that will minimize stormwater runoff or provide infiltration opportunities. In addition, the Stormwater field crew spends hours upon hours in the field maintaining the storm drain system and cleaning storm drain catch basins of leaves and debris to prevent flooding on surface streets when it rains (which has been crucial this year!) In addition, staff works with other local organizations and municipalities, such as SCV Water, to promote the importance of water conservation efforts.
The Solid Waste team works closely with the City’s franchised waste haulers to provide essential waste services and meet the waste reduction and recycling targets put forth by the State of California. A few of the projects they are currently working on are a residential waste hauler transition, where all single-family and multi-family households in Santa Clarita will transition from Waste Management to Burrtec Waste Industries effective July 1, and a new, mandatory organics recycling program which affects all residents and businesses in the City.
The Environmental Services team also provides robust outreach and education programs to the residents, businesses and students in our community regarding these important programs. They do this through Green Santa Clarita, which includes a comprehensive website, a Facebook page, various videos and public service announcements, and also by producing ads, editorials and newsletters. In addition to these resources, Green Santa Clarita shares relevant information from other partners and organizations and hosts various events throughout the year with an environmental focus, such as the Neighborhood Cleanup event and Bike to Work Challenge, which are both held in the Spring, and the annual River Rally and Environmental Expo, which is in September each year. In addition, Green Santa Clarita works with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works to provide Household Hazardous Waste and Electronic Waste Collection events in Santa Clarita multiple times per year.
I hope that 2023 will be a productive and sustainable year for all of our City residents. I also hope that you will take advantage of all of the resources Green Santa Clarita has to offer through the GreenSantaClaria.com website and Facebook page. You’ve Got a Friend at City Hall and the City’s Environmental Services team is always happy to answer any questions you may have, so feel free to reach out through email at environment@santaclarita.gov or by calling (661) 286-4098.
Mayor Jason Gibbs is a member of the Santa Clarita City Council and can be reached at jgibbs@santaclarita.gov.
