February 10, 2024
VC Star
Among other benefits, mulch and compost can help prevent erosion from heavy rain.
Mulch on soil surface works immediately after being applied correctly, reducing the impact of rain and slowing the flow of runoff. Compost, incorporated into soil, works long after being applied by promoting the growth of soil-holding roots.
Although cost varies, specified varieties of mulch and compost can be obtained free in some parts of Ventura County. In rare cases, funds are also available for transportation and spreading costs.
For those who live outside cities in an unincorporated area, mulch and compost are offered through companies providing recycling service. Such customers served by Harrison Industries may pick up material at Agromin free of charge or pay a fee for delivery. The maximum available per customer is 75 cubic yards of compost and 100 cubic yards of mulch per year. Instructions and order forms are at ejharrison.com/free-compost-mulch-program.
Athens Services’ free program for residential customers outside cities offers free compost at the company’s Santa Paula yard. Customers may pay a fee for home delivery of up to 10 bags or 10 cubic yards of compost. For more information or to schedule delivery, customers outside cities should call 805-856-0113.
Athens also provides free compost at annual neighborhood cleanup events in the unincorporated communities of Santa Susana Knolls and Oak Park.
Inside cities, Athens provides free compost at Thousand Oaks’ annual Arbor Earth Day and to Santa Paula residents at the city’s semiannual hazardous waste drop-off events in March and October.
WM, formerly Waste Management, offers residents in the cities of Simi Valley, Moorpark and Westlake Village two free compost giveaway events per year, held in conjunction with their free landfill days. The next event for Simi Valley will be held on March 17. The event for Moorpark and Westlake Village will take place on April 21 at WM’s Simi Valley Landfill and Recycling Center, 2801 N. Madera Road. Qualified residents can find out more by entering their address at WM.com.
Each Saturday, Peach Hill Soils and Landscape offers one cubic yard of free mulch to residents who drive into either of the company’s distribution locations. The Somis site is at Performance Nursery, 6001 E. Los Angeles Ave. The other is near the west end of Moorpark, where the material is made, at 10951 E. Los Angeles Ave. For more information call 805-529-6164.
The city of Ventura’s program, in partnership with Harrison Industries, offers mulch and compost from Agromin with a delivery charge of $135 per order through Dec. 15. Alternatively, compost can be collected free from Cornucopia Community Gardens. Compost or mulch is free to city residents with a reservation at Agromin’s office. See the city’s website, at cityofventura.ca.gov/2524/Free-Compost-Mulch-Program, for instructions and coupon codes.
Thousand Oaks residents may obtain free mulch on a first-come, first-served basis, stored by the city‘s Public Works Landscape Division at the city’s enclosure in the parking lot median between the Thousand Oaks Library and the Goebel Adult Community Center at 1385 East Janss Road. City residents may also obtain free compost on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Rancho Las Virgenes Compost Facility in Calabasas. At both locations, use your own shovel to load into your own bags.
In the Ojai Valley, the Ojai Valley Sanitary District offers free compost made from wood chips and Class A biosolids, passing tests for elimination of pathogenic organisms and heavy metals. Request an appointment for pick up at ojaisan.org/residential/compost.php.
For those without access to free material, and for more product options, mulch and compost are available for sale at garden stores, home improvement stores, some equipment rental yards and from recyclers of yard trimmings. This latter category of companies making and selling both mulch and compost includes Agromin’s sites at Ormond Beach and the company’s office in Oxnard, Peach Hill near Moorpark and American Soils near Simi Valley.
