Ventura Moves to Solve Recycling Dilemma : Environment: The council votes to commit the city’s trash to whichever of two proposed regional plants proves to be most cost-effective.

The Ventura City Council on Monday took the first in a series of steps expected to end a drawn-out political battle over where a regional recycling facility will be located.

The council voted 5 to 0 to commit its trash to either the county’s regional transfer facility in Camarillo or Oxnard’s plant--whichever is less costly.

The city now sends its recyclables to Gold Coast Recycling in Ventura, which is bidding to build a countywide facility.

Other west county cities and the Ventura County Board of Supervisors also are expected to vote between now and March 15 for the lower-cost alternative.

“We’ve got to get moving now,” Ventura City Manager John Baker said.

City and county officials are under pressure to comply with Assembly Bill 939, which dictates that all California cities and counties cut their landfill use 25% by 1995. By the year 2000, they must cut it 50%. Cities, most of which now recycle less than 15% of their trash, will face fines of up to $10,000 a day if the goals are not met.

Oxnard and the Ventura County Waste Commission have been racing toward building a recycling plant for the west county, and both have agreed the more cost-effective plant will win. Oxnard officials said they would drop their plans for their recycling facility if the county’s version is more cost-effective.

The county and cities’ trash commitments will induce bidders to come up with a cost-effective facility, said Steve Chase, Ventura’s environmental coordinator. “You save a lot in processing fees if everyone works together,” he said.

“It’s the trump card at the negotiating table,” said Clint Whitney, general manager of the Ventura Regional Sanitation District.

However, east county cities are not as enthusiastic about pledging their money and trash to a facility in the west county.

Thousand Oaks Councilman Alex Fiore said there have been discussions among Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Moorpark city officials about developing their own east county recycling plant.

Officials all agree, however, on the need for a recycling facility, and east county cities may take some of their recyclables to the west county plant, Fiore said.

Gold Coast Recycling Center, which daily sorts about 150 tons of residential trash from western Ventura County cities, will face a significant financial blow if it does not get the bid to operate the county’s recycling facility, said Nan Drake, the company’s spokeswoman. Two other companies also are bidding for the county recycling plant.

Drake said Gold Coast officials are confident that they can build the most cost-effective plant and thus lure all the trash commitments from the county’s western cities.