As we honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day,

Harrison Industries wants to ensure a seamless waste collection experience for residents in Ventura County. The good news? There’s no change to the trash, recycling, and organics waste collection schedule for the week of January 19–25, 2025. So, you can put your bins out as usual and let us take care of the rest.

Weekly Waste Collection: Here’s the Scoop

Did you know Harrison Industries collects all three waste categories every week? That’s right—trash, recycling, and organics all go curbside weekly. This includes food waste, which is now an essential part of our organics recycling program.

Quick Tips for Food Waste Disposal:

1. Place food waste in closed paper or plastic bags.
2. Toss the bags into your organics waste cart.
3. No yard waste? No problem! Even if you only have food waste, your organics cart can still be taken to the curb for pickup.

By keeping food waste out of landfills, you’re helping us protect the environment and comply with California’s waste management laws.

Why Food Waste Recycling Matters

Food waste recycling isn’t just a requirement—it’s a vital step toward combating climate change. When food waste decomposes in landfills, it releases methane gas, a major contributor to global warming. Recycling this waste not only reduces harmful emissions but also allows us to turn food scraps into valuable resources like compost and renewable energy.

At Harrison Industries, we’re proud to be leaders in implementing this critical initiative statewide. Our success would not be possible without the support and participation of our customers like you.

Let’s Work Together for a Sustainable Future

As we head into 2025, let’s continue to make food waste recycling a priority. Together, we can reduce landfill waste, cut emissions, and create a cleaner, greener community for future generations.

Have questions about food waste recycling or your trash collection schedule? Visit Harrison Industries for more information or reach out to their friendly customer service team.

Remember: Put your bins out as usual for the week of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Your commitment to sustainable waste management makes a difference!

Let’s keep up the great work, Ventura County!

Don’t miss any updates! To see the complete 2025 holiday collection schedule and plan ahead, visit Harrison’s Holiday Schedule today.

Let’s keep our community clean and sustainable all year long!

Recycling Your Christmas Tree: A Gift to Mother Earth

After bringing warmth and joy to your home during the holiday season, your Christmas tree can continue to spread goodwill by being recycled. Recycling your Christmas tree is a simple yet impactful way to give back to the environment, and we’re excited to provide this service for our residential customers again this year. Let’s work together to ensure your tree has a second life that benefits our community and the planet.

Why Recycle Your Christmas Tree?

When you recycle your Christmas tree, it is processed into mulch by our partner, Agromin, a leader in organic materials recycling. The mulch created from recycled trees enriches local farmlands, orchards, nurseries, and home gardens, promoting sustainable agriculture and healthier soils. By participating, you’re contributing to a cycle of renewal that supports the environment long after the holiday decorations are packed away.

How to Prepare Your Tree for Recycling

From December 26 through January 10, you can easily participate in this environmentally friendly program. Here’s how:

1. Remove All Decorations: Take off all ornaments, tinsel, lights, and other decorations to ensure the tree can be processed properly. Don’t forget to remove the stand as well.
2. Cut the Tree (If Needed): If your tree is larger than 4 feet, cut it into sections no longer than 4 feet to fit into your organics or yard waste cart.
3. Place for Collection:
   • Option 1: Place the tree in your organics/yard waste cart.
   • Option 2: Set the whole tree curbside on your collection day.
   • Flocked Trees Welcome: Yes, even flocked trees (those sprayed with artificial snow) are accepted!

By following these simple steps, you’ll ensure your tree is ready for recycling.

The Bigger Picture: Benefits of Christmas Tree Recycling

Recycling your Christmas tree goes beyond convenience—it’s a holiday gift to Mother Earth. When recycled, trees are transformed into a valuable resource rather than taking up space in a landfill. Mulch improves soil structure, reduces water usage, and supports healthier plant growth, making it an integral part of sustainable gardening and farming practices.

Agromin, alongside our local municipalities, plays a crucial role in this process, helping to ensure that every recycled tree contributes to a greener tomorrow.

Join the Effort Today

This holiday season, make recycling your Christmas tree a part of your traditions. It’s an easy and effective way to reduce waste and support sustainability in our community. With your help, we can turn this festive tradition into a meaningful way to give back to the Earth.

Thank you for your participation and for helping us make this program a success. Special thanks to Agromin and our local partners for their ongoing dedication to environmental stewardship. Together, we’re making a difference—one Christmas tree at a time.

Don’t forget! Tree collection runs from December 26 to January 10. Let’s keep the holiday spirit alive by giving your tree a second life. 🌱

Some Harrison customers will have a one-day delay in trash collection for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays

In observance of the Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays,

employees of Harrison Industries will be taking the day off on Wednesday, Dec. 25, and Wednesday, Jan. 1. As a result, Harrison will collect trash, recycling and yard/organics waste one day later than usual during those weeks, delaying pickup for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday customers only. Monday and Tuesday customers will not have a delay. The regular schedule will resume the following weeks.

As an extra holiday service this year,

Harrison customers may put out twice the usual amount of residential trash free of charge for two weeks after Christmas: from Thursday, Dec. 26, through Friday, Jan. 10. On your pickup day, you may place bags of extra trash alongside your waste cart at the curb. Please make sure to place the extra trash in bags. You can also put out extra recyclables next to your blue cart, but please flatten all boxes.

As another special holiday feature,

Harrison makes it easy for customers to recycle their Christmas trees into mulch. Just remove everything from the tree: ornaments, hooks, lights, tinsel, bows and tree stands, then cut the tree into sections no more than 4 feet long and place them in your yard/organics waste cart on your pickup day. Or, place the whole Christmas tree at the curb on collection day. Flocked trees are also accepted for recycling. 

The recycled trees will be processed into mulch by our partner Agromin. These products benefit our farmlands, orchards, nurseries, landscape projects and home gardens, so recycling your tree truly is a holiday gift to Mother Earth! We appreciate your help, and thanks also to Agromin and our local municipalities for participating in this program.

Remember that Harrison’s residential customers

can place all three carts curbside every week, as Harrison collects all waste weekly – including food waste, which is recyclable. All food waste should be placed in closed paper or plastic bags and the bags should be tossed in the organics waste cart. Even if you only have food waste bags and no yard waste, you can still put the food waste bags in your organics waste cart and take it to the curb every week for pickup.

To learn more about Food Waste Recycling, click here!

 Harrison Brothers Receive Citizens of the Year Award

Every year, the Ventura Chamber of Commerce

names their Poinsettia Award winners, celebrating outstanding and inspiring people, businesses, public servants and leaders in our community. On Dec. 12, Ralph, Jim and Myron Harrison were honored to receive the chamber’s prestigious Citizens of the Year 2024 award at the annual awards ceremony held at Marriott Ventura Beach hotel. The award was especially poignant in light of Ralph’s passing earlier this year.

In a video played during the ceremony,

Nan Drake said the Citizens of the Year 2024 award recognized the brothers and their company as “a leading force in business, the environment and philanthropy across Ventura County and beyond for more than 60 years.”

“Through it all, Ralph, Jim and Myron have always worked to maintain the legacy of hard work and good deeds that was deeply instilled in them by (company founders) E.J. and Myra,” Nan said. “And the legacy continues with the brothers’ sons, daughters and grandchildren now working in the family business, promising to take it far into the future.”

“We really appreciate the award,” Myron Harrison said.

Then he brought up his parents. “They took out their first city license in Ventura in 1932, and here we are. And the whole family is still involved.”

“Harrison is a family company,”

James said from the podium. “It’s a local company. We have a lot of employees and we love all of them. It’s a joy every day to go to work.”

What James said is true for all of us in the Harrison family. Through your hard work and dedication, you share in the brothers’ award and should take pride in this achievement.

And it’s not the first time Harrison Industries has been honored with Poinsettia Awards. We won the award for large business in 2015 and Nan Drake received the citizen of the year award in 2017 and the late Myra Harrison received the citizen of the year award in 2004.

This honor comes with a heavy heart,

as it arrives posthumously for Ralph Harrison, who passed away earlier this year at 89. His warmth, integrity, and steadfast commitment continue to guide the family business, which now includes multiple generations working side-by-side. Together, the Harrison brothers have created a legacy of service and generosity that will influence and benefit Ventura for generations to come.

Please join us in celebrating the Harrisons’ extraordinary contributions, honoring their family’s enduring community spirit, and remembering Ralph Harrison’s lifetime of devotion to all of us who call Ventura home.

Cheers to a Sustainable New Year!

A champagne toast on New Year’s Eve. A holiday gathering with the best wine. A favorite bourbon gifted to Dad for Christmas.

Scenes like these happen every year, making liquor and wine sales soar during the holidays. But what happens to those empty bottles? In the past, they often ended up in the trash or the recycling bin.

This year can be different—they’re now worth cash.

Wine and Liquor Bottles Now Eligible for CRV

Starting January 1, 2024, wine and distilled spirits are officially part of California’s Redemption Value (CRV) program. This includes:

• Wine bottles (including alcohol-removed brands)
• Liquor bottles
• Wine boxes, bladders, and pouches

What’s the Value of CRV Containers?

Under California Senate Bill 1013, signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2022, these are the deposit values:

• 🥂 5 cents for containers under 24 ounces (aluminum, glass, plastic, or bimetal)
• 🍷 10 cents for containers 24 ounces and larger (a standard wine bottle)
• 📦 25 cents for wine boxes, bladders, or pouches

When Does the Program Start?

• Redemption and deposit value started January 1, 2024.
• Some containers may not yet display CRV information on labels. Manufacturers have until July 1, 2025, to update labels.

Why It Matters

This legislation promotes recycling through:

• Funding for market development
• Infrastructure improvements to encourage glass recycling

Where to Recycle Your Bottles

Our business partner, the Gold Coast Recycling & Transfer Station, pays top prices for:

• CRV aluminum cans
• CRV plastics (#1 through #7)
• CRV bimetal
• CRV glass

📍 Location: 5275 Colt St., Ventura, CA
🕒 Hours: Monday–Saturday, 7:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
☎️ Phone: 805-642-9236
🌐 Website: goldcoastrecycling.com

How to Prepare Your Recyclables

To maximize efficiency:

1. Separate recyclables into plastic, aluminum, and glass.
2. Bring them to Gold Coast’s Buy-Back Center for redemption.

Learn More

For more details on the state CRV program:

• Visit: CalRecycle.ca.gov/bevcontainer

To learn more about what is accepted by EJ Harrison:

• Visit: https://ejharrison.com/recycling-guidelines/

Let’s Make 2025 a Sustainable Year

This New Year, every bottle counts. By recycling your wine and liquor containers, you’re not just reducing waste—you’re also earning cash while supporting sustainability.

Raise a toast to the planet and start recycling today! ♻️