Ventura council members, Neal Andrews, third from left, Jim Monahan, far right, and Brian Brennan, second from far right, assist with ribbon cutting at the opening of Harrison Industries' new LNG station.

Harrison Industries has opened the first LNG fueling station in western Ventura County.

Government officials, business leaders and special guests turned out Oct. 18 for a special grand opening of the environmentally friendly station at Harrison's Saticoy maintenance yard.

"This is indeed a big day for us and our 70,000 customers. But, perhaps most of all, it's a big day for our environment," President Ralph Harrison told the audience.

This station will result in the elimination of diesel emissions from a significant portion of Harrison's fleet. Portions of funding for the fueling station were provided by the Ventura County APCD and also with financial assistance from the City of Ventura.

Representing the City of Ventura were council members Brian Brennan, Jim Monahan and Neal Andrews

"The city's hauler, Harrison, will meet clean air compliance goals well ahead of schedule," Brennan predicted. "We are proud that Harrison consistently stays on the cutting edge of new technology and environmental issues."

Also on hand to usher in this important facility were County Supervisor Steve Bennett, Camarillo Councilwoman Charlotte Craven, Ojai Councilman Joe Devito, Brian Miller from Congressman Gallegly's office, VCEDA President/CEO Bill Burrato and Ventura Chamber President/CEO Zoe Taylor.

"They had a choice to either wait or set the standard," Bennett said. "Every time we are following one of their trucks down a resident street, we are going to appreciate the fact they are running on LNG and not on diesel."

"We're pleased that you are here with us today, and we're most appreciative of the cooperation we've received from the City of Ventura and the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) in undertaking this important project," Harrison said.

"This is a state-of-the-art facility," said Jerry Mason, a supervising air quality engineer at the APCD. The station has two pumps and its 50-foot tall tank holds 13,000 gallons, providing enough fuel for Harrison Industries to last six to seven weeks. The LNG is

transported to the Saticoy station by Clean Energy from a central California source that gets the fuel from providers in Colorado, Wyoming and Texas.

The trash industry has been faced with higher air quality standards than any other trucks running on the roads of California. "We are proud of our compliance record with the California Air Resources Board air quality regulations," Harrison said.

Harrison has ordered 15 new fully-dedicated LNG trucks, and is in the process of converting five of its diesel-engine trucks to run on LNG, which will bring the number of LNG vehicles in Harrison's fleet to 31.

The ARB Refuse Rule further requires all companies to retrofit or replace the engines in all their vehicles by 2010. Harrison is accomplishing that well ahead of schedule.

Harrison Industries, a family owned company, has been in business for more than 74 years and provides trash and recycling hauling services to the County of Ventura and the cities of Ventura, Camarillo, Ojai, Thousand Oaks, Santa Paula, Fillmore and Carpinteria.

Ventura Councilman Brian Brennan, center, with Ralph Harrison, left, and Jim Harrison at the official opening of Harrison Industries' new LNG fueling station.

Tons of Tennis Shoes!

Don’t throw those old tennis shoes in the trash can. They can be recycled at Gold Coast Recycling, where hundreds of tennis shoes are processed daily, as shown here by George Harrison, left, and Tom Harrison. Old tennis shoes are sent to Nike, where they are recycled into future playground equipment. Don’t put them in your trash can, put them in your recycle container.

Practice Extreme Recycling This Holiday Season

E.J. Harrison & Sons, Inc., is happy to offer additional recycling services for Ventura residents through our new contract with the City of Ventura.

Super-size your recycling! Order an Extra Large recycling cart at no extra cost! If your recyclables are spilling out of your cart on pick-up day, call us at 647-1414 and request a 50% larger recycling cart.

Recycle your rigid plastics: E.J. Harrison now accepts rigid plastics like toys, buckets, margarine and yogurt tubs, nursery flats and flower pots in your blue recycling bins. You still can't place plastic bags in your recycling bin, but please be sure to take advantage of plastic bag recycling offered at most grocery stores.

Recycle your athletic shoes: From now on, do not toss your old tennis shoes into your trash bin. Place them in your blue recycling container, along with your paper, glass and plastics. Nike, the shoe giant, collects the shoes and grinds them into rubberized material that is used in the construction of new synthetic athletic fields. Since Nike began its Reuse-A-Shoe program, it has helped donate more than 170 sport surfaces to communities around the world.

Need an extra green waste bin? For you avid gardeners out there as well as for those of you with large yards whose bins always seem to be overflowing, relief is here. For just $3 a month, E.J. Harrison & Sons will provide you with an additional green waste bin.

For more information, call 647-1414.

How to Place your Cart for Automated Collection

The automated arm of the collection truck needs room to grab the cart. Carts should be placed 2-3 feet apart from each other and from objects such as mail boxes and cars.

Carts should be out by 7:00 a.m. on collection days.