Lake Forest earns award for new solid waste management program

  • 2025-02-20
The city of Lake Forest has been honored by the American Public Works Association (APWA) for a landmark approach to the management of solid waste, highlighting its commitment to cost savings and innovation.

The Southern California Chapter of the APWA awarded the Project of the Year in the Creative and Innovative category to the Joint Solid Waste Agreement Procurement Project of Lake Forest. This award highlights the leadership the city has taken to ensure fiscal responsibility and form strategic partnerships that benefit residents.

The project involved a partnership with the city of Laguna Hills, where the two procured new contracts together for recycling and refuse collection. The two cities’ agreements have resulted in savings of $314,000 a year as compared to procuring agreements separately.

This agreement means new carts and bins; new collection trucks with leak detection, fire suppression systems, and collision avoidance; and new pails for kitchen countertops for the collection of food scraps. There will also be enhanced programs in the community that will feature two free compost events every year, a household hazardous waste drop-off event and two pickups at home, and an extended recycling program for holiday greenery.

More details about such programs and their benefits for a community are often made known with flyer printing.

This program will take effect on Tuesday, July 1.