Los Osos CSD Offers Food Scrap Pails
Don’t drive into San Luis Obispo for all your recycling needs.
The Los Osos Community Service District, which oversees the Solid Waste Franchise for Los Osos, offers some of the services in town that Integrated Waste Management Authority/Waste Connections provides.
“We offer battery recycling for regular household batteries, we purchase the compost that is a giveaway item for residents of Los Osos and the Nursery, and we always make sure we have food pails available in our office for residents to pick up,” Laura Durban, Los Osos CSD administrative services manager told Estero Bay News. “All of these services are offered free of charge to the residents. For the compost, you do have to show your ID at the nursery to prove you are a local resident.”
For those not in the know, the Food Scrap Pails are nifty little containers that can slide under your kitchen sink or sit on your counter. All food scraps can go in including meat, cheese, grains, fruits, vegetables, expired food, and more that then go into in your green curbside bin. Once picked up, the waste goes to the Anaerobic Digester, where they get turned into organic compost, fertilizer, and green energy.
For more information on what can be placed in the Food Scrap Pails go to iwma.com/free-food-scrap-pail. District Office hours are 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. Monday-Friday at 2122 9th Street, Suite 110, Los Osos.
Central Coast Caucus Bill Priorities
The California Legislative Central Coast Caucus, co-chaired by Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay) and Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) and vice chaired by Senator John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), unveiled its bill priorities for the 2026 legislative session.
“The Central Coast Caucus again has a priority bill package that uplifts the importance of our natural world to California’s economy and values,” said Addis. “As the federal government attacks our state, putting our coastline, climate, and pocketbooks at risk, I’m proud to co-chair a Caucus that is steadfast in defending California’s biggest assets – our people and our environment.”
The 2026 legislative package is currently comprised of ten bill priorities, each poised to address critical issues facing the region:
• AB 1744 (Addis) would make it illegal to label a sunscreen product as “reef safe,” “marine safe,” or any or any other phrase that leads the consumer to believe that the product is ocean friendly, unless the product is free of chemical ultraviolet filters.
• AB 2254 (Addis) would require certain cities to adopt monarch butterfly overwintering site protection policies.
• AB 1934 (Bennett) will require the State Fire Marshal to develop a home hardening certification program to help reduce the risk of property loss as a result of a fire by January 1st, 2028.
• SB 599 (Caballero) would require the Department of Water Resources to research, develop, and implement tools that produce atmospheric river forecasting.
• AB 2461 (Hart) clarifies existing law by explicitly applying bonding and financial assurance requirements when a company acquires or assumes control of an oil well or facility.
• SB 575 (Laird) re-establishes the California Sea Otter Voluntary Contribution Fund to allow taxpayers to continue supporting sea otter conservation efforts through voluntary tax return donations.
• SB 963 (Laird) streamlines the California Coastal Commission’s appeal process by establishing requirements for filing appeals and setting deadlines for reviewing and deciding appealed coastal development permits.
• SB 1261 (Laird) will ensure that Aging and Disability Resource Connection programs can continue to operate during times of transition.
• AB 1668 (Pellerin) extends the welfare tax exemption on open space used exclusively for the protection of native plants and animals, biotic communities, geological or geographical structures of scientific or educational interest, or open space land used exclusively for recreation or for the enjoyment of scenic beauty, to January 1st, 2032.
• AB 1919 (Pellerin) allows voters, through a qualified initiative placed on the ballot by the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District Board of Directors, to approve a transaction and use tax.
Further updates on the progress of these bills are anticipated as they move through the legislative process in the State Assembly and State Senate.
Poly Funds Projects Through Mini Grant Program
Cal Poly’s Office of Research announced 26 awards for the 2026-27 Teacher-Scholar Mini Grant (TSMG) program cycle.
“The Teacher-Scholar Mini Grant program demonstrates Cal Poly’s institutional commitment to advancing research, discovery, integration, application and engagement in the context of teaching and learning,” Cal Poly representatives said. “The Teacher-Scholar Mini Grant program is supported by funds from the Office of the Provost and provides enhanced internal funding to support all areas of teacher-scholar activities.”
Of the 104 proposals received, more than $350,000 has been awarded to 26 selected projects.
“The Teacher-Scholar Model embodies the very best of Cal Poly’s mission, where excellence in teaching and discovery are inseparable. These projects demonstrate how faculty scholarship enriches student learning while generating new knowledge and creative works that benefit our communities and our society.,” said Dean Wendt, Cal Poly’s interim associate vice provost of research.
Phil Costanzo, chair of TSMG Review Panel, commented that “Cal Poly’s faculty continue to grow and develop a culture of research and innovation that is being felt all over campus including the classroom and research space.”
A list of the 2026-27 awarded projects can be found https://research.calpoly.edu/.
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