Hundreds of worms can work wonders for a garden from right inside the living room. One pound of red wigglers—roughly 500 to 1,000 worms—can fit in a vermicomposting bin the size of a foot stool, churning organic waste into healthy compost.
In an average composting environment, the mixture needs to be turned over regularly to make sure it’s getting enough air. Worms do that job on their own just by living in the material and wiggling around.
The Santa Barbara County Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division sells vermicomposting bins at the Public Works office for a discounted rate of $50 compared to the regular $70 price tag. Program specialist Elizabeth Braun oversees the department’s backyard composting program and the countywide vermicomposting campaign.
“[Worms] eat the food scraps, and then their poop is called black gold—really valuable, nutrient-rich droppings,” Braun said. “It’s really, really valuable for gardening.”
Add organic waste every week and change out the “bedding” monthly with new dried leaves or newspaper to keep the worms happy. They’ll reproduce on their own.
Get your worm on
To learn more about how to properly manage all kinds of waste, visit lessismore.org or follow on Instagram @less.is.more.sb. Submit questions online at lessismore.org/contact-us. Buy a vermicomposter at 620 W. Foster Road in Santa Maria and get a 10 percent discount on worms at the nearby Growing Grounds Farm (820 W. Foster Road).
Passersby in Old Orcutt on April 18 can learn more about the county’s composting and recycling programs during the Earth Day festival.
Braun said the biggest challenge in North County is that people don’t know their kitchen scraps and yard waste should be diverted into green bins instead of the trash can, mandated by SB 1383. When organic materials end up in landfills, they release methane, a greenhouse gas 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide, Braun said.
Contents of residents’ green bins are taken to the Engel and Gray composting facility in Santa Maria and then to local farms.
“You’re creating this really nutritious compost that’s fantastic for crops that are grown at our local farms that feed us,” Braun said. “It’s keeping everything really cyclical. It’s saving landfill space. It’s ultimately saving money. Your bill is always going to be cheaper if you can reduce the amount of trash.”
Cities and the county try to make sorting waste as accessible as possible. Small kitchen scrap bins are available at no cost for Santa Maria residents at the Utilities Department (2065 E. Main St.) or the Parks and Recreation Department (615 S. McClelland St.). Residents in unincorporated areas can visit the county Public Works office to pick theirs up at 620 W. Foster Road in Santa Maria.
Even commercial businesses and schools can get food scrap bins, plus signs and training for staff, Braun said. When communities see organics diversion more often, it’ll become normalized.
In addition to composting, the county also leads efforts for recycling. The biggest misconception is how to deal with plastics. As a rule of thumb, the firmer plastics numbers 1, 2, and 5 can be recycled, Braun explained. Soft plastics like chip bags should be thrown in the trash.
“People think we just don’t recycle things, which couldn’t be further from the truth,” Braun said. “We’re trying to recycle as much as possible and pull out as much value.”
Braun also wants residents to know the county has great waste management systems in place, if they’re used correctly.
“We’re in a really wonderful area of the world to have our waste managed and not to have it ending up in the environment and causing a lot of pollution and being eaten by birds or ending up in our oceans,” Braun said. “If you’re managing your stuff correctly, then you’re doing a great job.”
Highlights
• Learn about the impacts of parental media use with First 5 Santa Barbara County during its third annual virtual Ed Talk. The event will be held over Zoom on April 30 from 10 to 11 a.m. Register for the free event at countyofsb.org/4010/Ed-Talk. “The irony of all of us staring at screens to talk about screen time is not lost on us,” organizers said in press materials.
• Downtown Fridays returned to Santa Maria on March 27 but in a new location due to construction. It’s now held on a closed-off part McClelland Street stretching from the library to Boone Street. Weather permitting, the event features food trucks, vendors, face painting, and live music every Friday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Reach Staff Writer Madison White at mwhite@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in April 2 – April 9, 2026.