Theo Lacy Facility Sustainability Program

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2014

California State Assembly Bill 341 (AB341), environmental in nature, was passed by Governor Jerry Brown in October 2011. This bill was implemented to ensure that businesses and public entities divert 75% of their solid waste through source reduction, recycling, or composting. The bill also requires business that contract for solid waste disposal and generate more than four cubic yards of solid waste and recyclable materials per week to arrange for recycling services. Such businesses are required to separate recyclable materials from solid waste and arrange for their collection, or contract with a recycling service that provides mixed-waste processing services. Commander Toni Bland, then the Facility Commander of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s , Theo Lacy Facility (TLF), set out to meet and exceed the requirements of AB341 by creating a Sustainability Unit to address the issue of waste reduction. Captain Bland selected Deputies Bill Wagner and Jim Hamill for the team due to their high level of motivation, knowledge, enthusiasm and sincere desire to help our environment through the reduction and better management of waste and recyclables.