Low-Tech Solution Works

The City of Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara County are considering the approval of a $120 million processing facility at the Tajiguas Landfill that could prove to be an environmental disaster and economic failure.

The proposal calls for a high-tech solution to a low-tech problem. The promoter, builder, and operator of this project, the investor group MSB, has no prior experience with the technology or management of a project of this huge scale.

The end product of the process will be a compost that may very well be unsuitable for agricultural application due to its contamination. The City of Napa recently abandoned a very similar project, opting for “low tech” composting and enhanced curbside sorting. Rates for garbage disposal will increase by about 60 percent over 12 years.