VENTURA, OXNARD : 2 Recycling Centers to Open by 1996

Two major recycling centers planned for Ventura and Oxnard are expected to be up and running by mid- or late 1996, officials said Monday.

The city of Oxnard is planning to break ground in July on its $20-million recycling plant, said Bernie Huberman, an official with Los Angeles-based BLT Enterprises. Once built, BLT will operate the recycling plant, set to open in July, 1996.

Meanwhile, Ventura-based Gold Coast Recycling hopes to start construction by the end of the year on its $100-million center and open in 12 months, said project manager Don Slack.

Huberman and Slack provided an update on their planned projects to members of the Ventura County Western Waste Management Authority, which includes officials from the county and the cities of Fillmore, Ojai and Ventura. The authority was formed in December to increase the bargaining power of the cities with trash companies.

With Bailard Landfill in Oxnard facing possible closure in 1996, officials from west county cities are scrambling up to find alternatives for disposing of their trash.

Huberman told representatives of the authority that the Oxnard plant would be able to handle up to 2,779 tons of trash a day. However, the plant would only be able to recycle about 250 tons, and the remainder would be hauled to a still undetermined site outside the county.

The cost of transporting--possibly by rail--and disposing of trash is estimated at about $39 per ton, significantly higher than what the three existing county landfills charge.

The plant will handle an estimated 700 tons of garbage a day from the city of Oxnard, Huberman said. But the city is hoping to contract with other west county cities to increase the daily volume, which could lower its disposal rates, he said.

Slack, of Gold Coast, said that his company recycling plant would be able to handle 1,500 tons of trash per day, and will have the capability of recycling about 400 tons.

Both plans call for the construction of private firms on-site that will convert recyclables into consumer goods.