The Acorn
March 8, 2024
Before another atmospheric river flows through, it’s important to remember that mulch and compost can help prevent erosion from heavy rain. Mulch on the 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, and in rare cases, funds are also available for transportation and spreading costs.
For those who live in Ventura County’s unincorporated areas, mulch and compost are offered through companies providing recycling service. Unincorporated area customers served by Harrison Industries may pick up material at Agromin free of charge, or they may 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 Athens’ Santa Paula yard, or customers may pay a fee for home delivery of up to 10 bags or 10 cubic yards of compost. For information and to schedule a pickup or delivery, customers outside cities should call (805) 856-0113.
Athens also provides free compost at annual neighborhood clean-up 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 biannual hazardous waste drop-off events in March and October.
WM offers residents in the cities of Simi Valley, Moorpark and Westlake Village two free compost giveaway events per year, held in conjunction with its free landfill days. The Simi Valley event will be held March 17, while the event for Moorpark and Westlake Village will take place 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 Somis distribution locations. One site is at Performance Nursery, 6001 E. Los Angeles Ave. The other is where the material is made, 10951 E. Los Angeles Ave., Moorpark. For further information, call (805) 529-6164.
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 Senior Center on Janss Road. City residents may also obtain free compost Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Rancho Las Virgenes Composting Facility, 3700 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas. At both locations, use your own shovel and bags.
The county and some cities have special programs for schools, including a subsidy for the cost of delivery. Schools outside cities may contact the Ventura County Public Works Agency at (805) 658-4319 to request compost or mulch. Transporting and spreading mulch, or incorporating compost into soil, can be expensive. However, the California Department of Food and Agriculture offers subsidies of up to $58 per ton for mulch to prevent erosion on some types of “working lands.” This land includes some farms and ranches. Go to cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/healthysoils.
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.
Sometimes you can get lucky and receive free mulch from public, private or utility tree trimming crews working in your area. If you see tree trimmers feeding branches into a grinder, shooting mulch into the back of a truck, you can carefully approach and ask them to dump their load on your front yard. Ask also to ensure the tree being removed is not diseased.
Mulch and compost available at processing facilities come from many sources, but concerns about pathogens and metals are addressed by regulatory requirements for heat, time and testing.
David Goldstein is an environmental analyst with the Ventura County Public Works Agency and can be reached at (805) 658-4312 or david.goldstein@ventura.org.
https://www.theacorn.com/articles/scoop-up-free-mulch-compost-to-prevent-erosion/
