Local Resources
Advocacy: Contact elected officials and comment at public meetings. Get up-to-date contact information for officials, as well as calendars and agendas for public meetings, at countyofsb.org or your city’s website or city hall.
Community Environmental Council (CEC): This nonprofit with more than 50 years of leadership on the Central Coast is working to reverse the climate crisis. This is a go-to hub for whatever you want to know about environmental policies, issues, programs, and more. cecsb.org
Electrify Your Life: This CEC program gives guidance on tax credits and incentives for energy-efficient upgrades and electric vehicle and e-bike purchases. cecsb.org/electrify-your-life.
Lawn Rebate: Apply in advance through the City of Santa Barbara to get paid to remove your lawn. santabarbaraca.gov/lawnrebate
Library of Things: The Santa Barbara Public Library offers an assortment of objects that you can borrow and then return, including instruments, binoculars, and fishing gear. 40 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara, library.santabarbaraca.gov/books-more/library-things
Los Padres ForestWatch: Since 2004, this advocacy group has worked to protect and restore the forests, chaparral, grasslands, rivers, wildlife, and wilderness along California’s Central Coast. forestwatch.org
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden: For 100 years, this 78-acre garden has been dedicated to conserving and displaying California’s native plants. Visitors can walk more than 5 miles of trails and experience everything from a redwood forest to desert landscape. sbbotanicgarden.org
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: Founded in 1916, this museum includes exhibits on local mammals and marine life, minerals, and Chumash plants. Visitors can also gaze at the cosmos through telescopes in the Palmer Observatory. sbnature.org
Sustainability and Resilience Department: The City of Santa Barbara is spearheading a range of sustainability initiatives, from promoting alternative transportation to investing in clean energy to implementing climate adaptation solutions. sustainability.santabarbaraca.gov
Green Shops and Services
Eye of the Day Garden Design Center: Peruse a wide variety of garden decor that can be customized. By appointment only. 273 Bell St., Los Alamos; and 321 N. Aviador St., Camarillo; eyeofthedaygdc.com
Get Hooked: This subscription offers delivery or pickup of local seafood that you can customize based on your taste and schedule. gethookedseafood.com
La Sumida: This nursery and gift shop specializes in organic gardening. 165 S. Patterson Ave., Santa Barbara, lasumida.com
Mattress Mike: This local shop features eco-friendly mattresses. 3845 State St., Santa Barbara, mattressmikesb.com
Mission Refill: Buy less-wasteful products like bamboo straws and reusable paper towels, or choose from a selection of over 40 refillable products. 5733 Calle Real, Goleta, missionrefill.com
Natural Haven: Learn how to reduce toxins in your home with a customized consultation. naturalhavensb.com
Sunkissed Pantry: Find home essentials for everything from kitchen to beauty to pet products without single-use plastic packaging. 19 E. Canon Perdido St., Santa Barbara, sunkissedpantry.com
Buying Secondhand
- Antique Alley, antiques, 706 State St., Santa Barbara, antiquealleysb.com
- Blue Door, antiques, 4 E. Yanonali St., Santa Barbara, thebluedoorsb.com
- Crossroads Trading, thrift, 1025 State St., Santa Barbara, crossroadstrading.com
- Loveworn, vintage, 11 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara, shoploveworn.com
- Moving Miss Daisy's Consignment & Auction House, consignment, 3845 State St., Santa Barbara, consignmentsbymmd.com
- Unity Shoppe, thrift, 1209 State St., Santa Barbara, unityshoppe.org
Solar Companies
- Brighten Solar, brightensolarco.com
- Mac’s Solar, macsolar.com
- Sunrise, sunrise805.com
Transportation
Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) Transportation Programs: Find alternatives to driving alone, from electric buses to carpools, vanpools, and e-bike lending programs, and use the SmartRide app for trip planning. sbcag.org/projects/traveler-services
MOVE Santa Barbara County: This group advocates for equitable countywide infrastructure for walking, cycling, and public transit and empowers and educates residents to choose active and sustainable forms of transportation. movesbcounty.org
BCycle: Use this app-enabled e-bike share service. santabarbara.bcycle.com
Bike Shops
- Bici Centro Community Bike Shops, 434 Olive St., Santa Barbara; 310 E. Oak St., Santa Maria; and Santa Barbara City College, 721 Cliff Dr., Santa Barbara, movesbcounty.org/community-bike-shops-bici-centro
- Boom Boom Bike Room, 1924 De La Vina St., Santa Barbara, boomboombikeroom.com
- Fastrack Bicycles, 118 W. Canon Perdido St., Santa Barbara, fastrackbicycles.com
- Hazard’s Cyclesport, 110 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara, incycle.com/pages/retailer/hazards-cyclesport
- Isla Vista Bicycle Boutique, 880 Embarcadero del Mar, Isla Vista, islavistabicycles.com
- Open Air Bicycles, 135 E. Carrillo St., Santa Barbara, openairbicycles.com
- Velo Pro Cyclery, 15 Hitchcock Way, Santa Barbara; and 5887 Hollister Ave., Goleta, velopro.com
Volunteering
Advocacy
- Citizens Planning Association: This organization advocates for sustainable urban design and land use, as well as natural resource protection. As a volunteer, you can write letters to government officials, assist with clerical work, or be a Watchdog Leader of a project. citizensplanning.org
- Environmental Defense Center: This group takes legal action to protect the local environment. You can volunteer at the organization’s events and help with a range of administrative work. environmentaldefensecenter.org
- Get Oil Out!: Volunteers help with advocacy efforts and community events. getoilout.org
Beach cleanups
- Heal the Ocean: If you want to host a beach cleanup, you can find resources here to help make it a success. healtheocean.org
- Santa Barbara Channelkeeper: This nonprofit hosts at least four major cleanups each year. sbck.org
Conservation
- Channel Islands Restoration: Collect native seeds, help remove invasive species, and maybe even be a sheep docent at the Channel Islands. cirweb.org
- Land Trust for Santa Barbara County: Participate in habitat restoration and trail maintenance at Arroyo Hondo Preserve and the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve. sblandtrust.org
- Santa Barbara County Trails Council: Join the trail maintenance team or serve on an advisory committee for this organization, which advocates for trail access and improvements so nature lovers can enjoy the outdoors. sbtrails.org
- Your Children’s Tree: This student-run nonprofit aims to restore local ecosystems by planting trees. Sign up for one of the many tree-planting events online. yourchildrenstreesatucsb.org
Wildlife
- Ojai Raptor Center: This wildlife rehabilitation center offers volunteer opportunities to partake in animal care, wildlife transportation, educational programs, data entry, and much more. ojairaptorcenter.org
- Santa Barbara Audubon Society: Volunteer at the Eyes in the Sky program to participate in educational initiatives and care for birds. santabarbaraaudubon.org
- Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Center: Volunteers can help feed, clean, and care for rescued animals; rescue and transport wildlife to the center; answer calls to the center’s helpline; and help out with facilities, gardening, and administrative tasks. sbwcn.org
Food Donations
Foodbank of Santa Barbara County: Bring food in good condition. foodbanksbc.org
Other organizations: Check out lessismore.org for opportunities to help others and avoid food waste by donating food and scraps.
Recycling and Compost
Upcycle Trash
Donate or find secondhand items and supplies for arts-and-crafts projects at Art From Scrap. 302 E. Cota St., Santa Barbara, exploreecology.org/art-from-scrap
Blue Bin Recycling
Contents of blue bins are consolidated at various facilities, where they are sorted by material and processed for reuse. Among the items that can go in the blue bins are paper, glass, metal, #1 and #2 plastic bottles that once held liquid, and rigid #5 plastic containers that are gallon-sized or larger. Make sure everything is clean, dry, and not in a bag. To learn more about what can and cannot be recycled where you live, go to the county’s Less Is More website.
What about items not accepted in the blue bin?
- Batteries: If you are a MarBorg customer, put tape on the ends and place them in a sealed plastic bag on top of — not inside — your blue bin or in the orange buckets at apartment buildings. Batteries are also accepted at local hazardous waste facilities throughout the county.
- Electronics: Find a location near you at lessismore.org/electronics.
- Lights: Take fluorescent bulbs and LEDs to your local hazardous waste facility, and string and solar lights to your local electronic waste collection location. Incandescent light bulbs can be placed in the trash bin.
- Cardboard pizza boxes: South Coast, Santa Ynez Valley, and Cuyama Valley residents: Put these in the trash; they will be sorted out into compost at the ReSource Center. Santa Maria and Lompoc valley residents: Place them in the green bins. Carpinteria residents: Bag them along with food waste.
- Plastic bags: Shopping bags, bread bags, and Ziploc bags (minus the zipper part) can be dropped off at Ablitt’s Fine Cleaners and Tailors (14 W. Gutierrez St., Santa Barbara, ablitts.com) during one of their recycling events.
- Styrofoam: Bring to MarBorg in Goleta (20 David Love Place) or Santa Barbara (132 Nopalitos Way).
Green Bin Composting
Yard waste goes in the green bin in all of Santa Barbara County. Residents of the Lompoc and Santa Maria valleys may mix food scraps with yard waste, while residents of Santa Ynez Valley and the South Coast should put food scraps in the trash. Carpinteria residents may also put food scraps in the green bin, placed in plastic or paper bags first. Also, the Santa Barbara Zoo accepts certain plant clippings. sbzoo.org
Mulch from green bin contents is available for free at South Coast Recycling and Transfer Station (4430 Calle Real, Santa Barbara) and Santa Ynez Valley Recycling and Transfer Station (4004 Foxen Canyon Road, Los Olivos).
Trash Bin Composting
Residents of Santa Ynez Valley and the South Coast should put all food waste in the trash bins. The waste from the trash bins is then machine-sorted and put into an anaerobic digester at the ReSource Center. This generates methane, which is turned into renewable electricity at a power plant. The compost is then sold for use by homes, farms, and businesses.
DIY Home Composting
Need a compost bin? Get a discounted one at:
- South Coast Recycling and Transfer Station (4430 Calle Real, Santa Barbara)
- Santa Ynez Valley Recycling and Transfer Station (4004 Foxen Canyon Road, Los Olivos)
- North County Public Works Building (620 W. Foster Road, Orcutt)
Learn about backyard composting: lessismore.org
