Director’s Message Our Organization Continuing Progress For Our Community Legislative Update Year In Review

Continuing

Progress

Our state-of-the-art landfills present environmental engineering
and stewardship at the highest levels, reflected in a variety of
activities: the design and location of each fill area, compost facilities, airspace preservation, prevention of hazardous waste from being buried, mitigation of naturally occurring events, and even in the heavy equipment we use.

Systemwide Operation Highlights

475,904

Hours Recorded by OCWR Employees

5,086,596

Tons of Buried Waste

785,048

Toll Fee Booth
Transactions

720.96

Tons of Compost Applied for Beneficial Reuse

16,842

Tons of Green Waste Repurposed for Composting

88,495

Total Operational Hours of Heavy Equipment

37,948

Calls Handled at HQ Reception

484

Acres of Habitat
Maintained

1,892,183

Tons of Soil Received

519,996

Tons of Asphalt Received

27,262

Mattresses Recovered
(749.7 tons)

2,162

Tons of Scrap Metal
Recovered

Preserving
Airspace

In addition to reporting tonnage accepted and buried each year, it is equally important to measure the space in the landfills that did not get filled by recycling green waste, mattresses and metals. We call this preserving airspace,
and our focus on resource recovery is already paying off.
The airspace preserved in 2022 is roughly equivalent to the space of more than 16 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Our Journey to
Renewable Diesel –
One Year Later

OCWR shifted all heavy equipment fleet to renewable diesel (RD) in July 2021. That’s 106 pieces of heavy equipment and 115 engines operating across the County’s landfills.

We see a cleaner environment and a lower fuel cost when we use RD. This was especially beneficial when fuel prices were rapidly increasing across the country. When compared to diesel fuel, during 2022 we saw an estimated:

75% reduction in carbon dioxide equivalent units
(CO2 eq) emission

33% reduction in fine particulates

9% reduction in
nitrogen oxides (NOx)

Keeping
things Safe

Workers Compensation: continues
to be lowest in the last 13 years of
agency history per CEO Risk
Management.

Continued safety performance:
all three landfills; ending the year
with Total Recordable Injury Rates
(TRIR) at or below 2020 industry
standard rates.

Coaching and Mentoring: introduced
SPOT Check "Safety Performance
Observation Talk" program to support
OCWR supervision coaching and
mentoring staff in the field; 517 SPOT
Checks completed to recognize
positive safety performance and give
immediate feedback to staff.

OCWR staff logged a total of 9,142
training hours in the County’s Eureka
Learning Management System.

Playbook of Standard Operating
Procedures: 272 SOPs were updated or
revised based on revised job hazard
analysis to include pictures, videos and
task specific expert tips.

LOTO Electrical Safety: 157 Equipment
Specific Lockout/Tagout (LOTO)
Procedures developed and published
within the SOP Playbook.

More than 36,000 unique inspections/
submissions completed digitally using WiFi-
enabled tablets, this increase was driven by
the conversion of existing paper forms and
checklists to the digital platform and
development of new inspections.

1,242 Training Hours Logged on
the heavy equipment under direct
supervision.

11 new trainees completed heavy
equipment training and received
certification in the safe operation of
their assigned machines.

ORNGE is the New Green.

OC Waste & Recycling has been reimagining what our agency’s future will
look like. This was the nexus for ORNGE is the New Green, creating a circular
economy with organics: Organics to Renewable Natural Gas and Energy.

OC Waste & Recycling has been reimagining what our agency’s future will look like. This was the nexus for ORNGE is the New Green, creating a circular economy with organics: Organics to Renewable Natural Gas and Energy.

Composting
Operations

Taking on the unprecedented challenge of developing
a regional organic waste management and recycling
program for the County, we have developed local
infrastructure and built sustainable composting
systems co-located at the County’s landfills.

Compost is a full-circle product that begins in the
yard waste bin and transforms into nutrient-rich soil
amendment that helps retain moisture in the soil,
suppresses weed growth, and provides macro and
micronutrients for healthier plant growth.

To help facilitate the exchange of compost and
mulch we have a dedicated webpage to accept
requests for compost and/or mulch material from
residents, commercial businesses, local cities/
jurisdictions and government agencies.

By diverting organics, we are preserving landfill
capacity and extending the lifespan of finite
resources, so that our landfills will continue to
be available for future generations.

The San Juan Capistrano Equestrian Coalition appreciates the opportunity to work
with OCWR to repurpose equestrian waste. This project will help create green
solutions, decrease distances the trucks travel and keep costs down to ensure that
people of all income levels have the opportunity to enjoy riding.

— Dr. Julie Ryan Johnson, Board Member

In 2022, Capistrano Greenery began accepting horse manure from the San Juan Capistrano Equestrian Coalition, diverting compostable material from the landfill as well as being a good neighbor to local residents and businesses. The operations team successfully incorporated manure and horse bedding into the feedstock without impacting the quality of finished compost.

Quality Assurance
Certification

Our agency received the US Composting Council’s “Seal of Testing Assurance” at Frank R. Bowerman Landfill’s Bee Canyon Greenery and Prima Deshecha Landfill’s Capistrano Greenery. This certification signifies that OCWR’s compost offers the highest standards of compost quality, meeting all federal, state and local regulations and permitting criteria.

Sharing with
The Community

Green waste that was once buried at the landfill is
now recycled into compost and mulch and provided
to OC residents, commercial businesses, local cities
and government agencies.

Our activities have contributed to meeting diversion
mandates as well as meeting California’s statewide
goal of diverting organics from disposal to achieve
climate change-related reduction targets.

Our efforts will preserve landfill capacity and extend
the lifespan of these finite resources, allowing our
landfills to still be here for current and future
generations.

The Future of OCWR

From windrow composting, our next stop will be Covered Aerated Static Piles, then on to
Source Separated Organics facilities, all co-located at the landfills, and ahead to Anaerobic
Digestion. We are also looking at the possibility of creating solar farms and battery storage
facilities within the landfill system.

From windrow composting, our next stop will be Covered Aerated Static Piles, then on to Source Separated Organics facilities, all co-located at the landfills, and ahead to Anaerobic Digestion. We are also looking at the possibility of creating solar farms and battery storage facilities within the landfill system.

Thank you OC Waste & Recycling for 25 tons of free compost! It is great to be
able to provide our residents with a full-circle product that begins in the yard
waste and transforms into a nutrient-rich soil amendment to retain moisture in
the soil, suppress weed growth and provides nutrients for healthier gardens
and yards.

— Cathy Nguyen, Environmental Services Coordinator, City of Placentia

Compost
Giveaways

OC Waste & Recycling encourages organic diversion
all year long through the promotion of special
days such as Earth Day and America Recycles Day®.
By partnering with other agencies within the County, OCWR is able to reach the local community and
raise awareness for composting. Our outreach also included promoting good recycling habits and
asking the community to pledge to recycle on November 15, America Recycles Day, the only
nationally recognized day dedicated to promoting recycling in the United States.

Habitat Restoration

Habitat Restoration is a vital part of OCWR’s compliance and
environmental stewardship efforts. In 2022, restorations not only involved
rebuilding habitats and removing invasive species, but also incorporating
compost from our facilities into new and existing landscapes. With the
support of Irvine Ranch Conservancy (IRC), a non-profit land management
organization, restorations and compost were successfully implemented
across the county.

North Region

Coastal sage scrub restoration on a 7.5-acre site within Crystal Cove State Park began in spring 2020 and continued to progress in 2022. This unique restoration project involves re-introduction of many rare plant species along coastal bluffs and will provide habitat for the endangered California gnatcatcher. It serves as mitigation for habitat impacts at the closed Gothard Landfill in Huntington Beach. IRC prepared a vegetation plan, performed flora and fauna surveys to determine background species inventory, collected native seed and implemented essential weed control. In 2023, IRC plans to take the carefully collected native seeds from the site at Crystal Cove State Park and apply them to container plants in Orange County.

Aligning with permit requirements, approximately 198 acres of coastal sage scrub achieved completion
status at Prima Deshecha Landfill in 2022. The growth offset planned impacts associated with the
development of the landfill’s Zone 4, providing natural habitat in designated and depleted areas. The
growth of coastal sage scrub at Prima also supported an increase in California gnatcatcher territories.
The Segunda area started with six pairs of gnatcatchers in 2015 when the installation began. After
years of habitat installation efforts, the number of gnatcatcher pairs increased to 25, successfully
quadrupling the amount in 2022.

South Region

Central &
South Regions

Bee Canyon Greenery at Frank R. Bowerman Landfill in Irvine processes green waste into quality compost
to a diverse list of customers in Orange County, including residents, cities, partner agencies and private
companies. Over 6,000 tons of green waste was processed in 2022.

One of those satisfied customers is IRC. OCWR contracts with IRC to manage the Trabuco Creek
restoration project for the mitigation of Prima Landfill’s habitat impacts. The project began in 2021 and
includes restoration of Trabuco Creek through the removal of invasive giant reed (Arundo donax),
replanting and seeding native plants, and the creation of a 0.30-acre wetland. Creating the wetland and
restoring native habitats on disturbed lands requires healthy soils. IRC utilized 144 tons of Bee Canyon’s
compost to help accomplish this goal. Incorporating the compost into the new wetland repaired the
soil's biological, chemical, and physical properties. IRC plans to continue to use OCWR’s compost in
various projects across Orange County.

OCWR has been a great partner to Irvine Ranch Conservancy in facilitating this
landscape-scale habitat restoration project. Not only did OCWR provide
compost free of charge, they also delivered all the quantities we needed
directly to the field site. OCWR staff have been consistently helpful in
providing us with a quality product in a timely manner.

— Robert Freese, Irvine Ranch Conservancy Program Manager

Demonstration Pilot Projects

Olinda
Alpha

Olinda Improves Safety at the Site
North Region staff implemented several new safety measures including but not limited to raising stop
signs, adding new street lights around key areas of the landfill and reminding drivers to keep a safe
distance between vehicles.

Methane Detection Pilot
Monitoring for methane of Olinda Alpha Landfill utilizing drone technology.

Pilot program in progress to determine the feasibility of drone technology as a potential alternative to
existing methods for monitoring.

Drones equipped with HD camera can capture current site conditions including generating aerial maps,
Google Maps and topography maps that are used in engineering designs and calculations.

Tested the Posi Shell Applicator to reduce methane gas emissions and use as an alternative daily cover (ADC). The use of the applicator was approved by the LEA in 2022.

Set up a compost pickup area for County residents.

Piloted the Eco Sift machine to help explore ways to clean compost.

Methane Detection Pilot
Pilot program in progress to determine the feasibility of drone technology as a potential alternative to existing methods for monitoring.

Frank R.
Bowerman

Prima
Deshecha

Condensate Treatment Pilot Program
A 9-week pilot program utilizing biophysical activated sludge (PAC), Granular Activated Carbon (GAC), and Ion Exchange Resin was conducted at the Prima Deshecha Landfill to determine effectiveness of different processes in treating onsite-generated condensate.

Treatment methods were determined successful in treating onsite condensate for organic parameters as well as Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS); permitting with South Orange County Wastewater Authority (SOCWA) and City of San Clemente.

Methane Detection Pilot
Monitoring for methane at Zone 1 for Prima Deshecha Landfill utilizing drone technology.

Pilot program in progress to determine the feasibility of drone technology as a potential alternative to conventional methods for monitoring.

Surveying with drones utilizes less personnel and less equipment which is lower labor intensive and significantly improves the factor of safety for this field operation.

Capistrano Greenery Horse Manure Pilot
Capistrano Greenery began accepting horse manure from the San Juan Capistrano Equestrian Coalition in February 2022. Incoming tonnage started at approximately 10 tons per week, has since increased to about 40 tons per week. All windrows with manure have passed all laboratory testing.

Capital and
Improvement
Projects

26 Improvement Projects completed in 2022
with a construction value of over $2M. Projects
include road and retention basin maintenance, installing channel crossing safety bridges,
fencing, solar streetlights and more.

Two Capital Projects were completed in 2022 with
a construction value of more than $3.5M. The Prima
Deshecha landfill saw developments to Zone 1
Phase D2 and its Zone 4 Habitat Mitigation.