Santa Barbara County commenced to modernize its solid waste system in 1960 by passage of an ordinance by the Board of Supervisors assuming the responsibility for waste disposal and regulation of refuse collection. Private collectors were licensed, with collection service, equipment and rates controlled by the County. Transfer facilities were put in service in the populous south coast area in 1967 with a sanitary fill site planned to become a future recreation area. After several years of operation, costs of transfer and disposal are four dollars per ton.
Although totally funded by the County plus revenues up to this year, the refuse disposal operation became an 'enterprise fund' on July 1, 1974 and will thereafter operate essentially as a private business. Financial planning for refuse disposal in Santa Barbara County has assumed continuation of the sanitary fills and transfer system until 1980, but the new Solid Waste Management Plan for the County now required by the State will evaluate resource recovery, power generation and other possible alternatives. Based on these studies, the plan may lead to a new phase in improvement of solid waste management in the County.