Santa Barbara County has approved an ambitious $110 million dollar project intended to create a state of the art recycling program at the county’s Tajiguas landfill.
The project has been in development for more than six years. It’s intended to increase the county’s recycling rate to more than 85%, as well as extending the life of the landfill on the Gaviota coast. An Anaerobic Digestion Facility will process organic materials, and allow methane and carbon dioxide to be converted into electricity. It’s estimated the process will reduce carbon dioxide pollution by about 110,000 metric tons a year.
The Tajiguas project is a public-private partnership with MSB Investors of San Luis Obispo, which will design and build the facility. Work will begin next March, with the facility expected to be online in 2019.
Tajiguas serves more than 200,000 people on the Central and South Coasts.
