Pico Rivera : Free Mulch Offer a Product of City’s Recycling Program

Residents may retrieve some of their trash this month in a usable form: mulch for fertilizer and ground cover.

One container up to 33 gallons will be filled with free mulch from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Whittier Fertilizer Co., 9441 Kruse Road in Pico Rivera. A 33-gallon container of mulch is worth $7 to $10, said company owner Bob Osborn. The company will fill a second container for $1.

The mulch is the product of Pico Rivera’s curbside green waste recycling program, which began in January. The city’s trash collector picks up yard waste, including wood chips and trimmings from grass, bushes and trees, and delivers it to Whittier Fertilizer Co., which composts the waste into mulch.

The mulch offer was arranged through a city contract. Officials said they wanted residents to benefit from recycling the waste and paying for the program, which costs households about $1.33 per month this year.

The city is entitled to 40% of the mulch generated. The city plans to use it at parks and other landscaped areas. The fertilizer company sells its portion of the mulch in fertilizer mixtures.

During the first six months of the program, the city diverted 3,311 tons of green waste from landfills. Mulch giveaways will be conducted every other month.