Supervisor Steve Kinsey's Waste Brigade will ask West Marin residents what they think of a longterm waste scheme that calls for more recycling centers, a major reduction in trash disposal, and encourages self-haulers to sign up for curbside pickup with Shoreline Disposal.

The Brigade will air its recommendations in a public meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15, at the Dance Palace.

Members of the group are "looking forward to getting their ideas out in front of the community and hearing from the community," Kinsey said on Wednesday.

Dee Johnson, Kinsey's aide on the Brigade and a former county Waste Management chief, said the group's recommended programs - which focus on education and outreach - are "workable."

She praised the Brigade for identifying local resources rather than looking for "institutional" funding for their modest goals. "They don't want to go out and spend a lot of money."

The group's main goal is to reduce the amount of trash West Marin generates. In 1996, West Marin produced 11,102 tons of trash. The Brigade's target: 8,882 tons in the year 2000, or 20 percent less than last year.

Also, the group wants much more waste diverted from landfills through composting and recycling. In 1996, 17 percent of the generated waste was diverted. They hope that figure is 40 percent in the year 2000.

The thorniest issue for the 15-member Brigade, which has been meeting regularly for nearly a year, has been to decide whether Shoreline should haul West Marin's trash directly over the hill to Redwood Landfill in Novato or create a transfer station somewhere in West Marin.

Under an agreement made with the county last year, West Marin Sanitary Landfill is supposed to close on Sept. 30. But the Martinelli family, who owns the dump, have said they may need to stay open longer to pay for closure of the dump.

Kinsey last Thursday told the Waste Brigade that the Martinellis and their attorney have become increasingly isolated in talks concerning the dump. He admitted that he's not sure when the dump is going to close.

In any case, almost all the major users of the landfill - Shoreline Disposal, the Park Service, Lawson's Landing - have stopped going there or are about to stop.

Kinsey on Wednesday said the Brigade began by assuming that a transfer station would be a cheaper and more sensible option than direct haul.

But the Brigade, led by Inverness resident John Robbins, "challenged those assumptions" and worked with Shoreline to crunch the numbers, Kinsey said. The Brigade's Rates and Financing Committee determined that direct haul would make better economic sense for Shoreline customers.

Three types of transfer stations varying in mobility and size were considered, and the most efficient of the three was determined to cost two to three times more than direct haul.

Based on estimates agreed on by the Brigade and Shoreline Disposal, direct haul to Novato could end up costing customers less than they're now paying for disposal at West Marin Sanitary Landfill.

However, the obvious losers in the direct haul option are tradesmen and others who haul their own garbage to the dump.

Kinsey said fears remain about the potential for more illegal dumping on West Marin's roadsides, and he wants the public to debate the matter at the community meeting.

For now, though, the Brigade is recommending that self haulers sign up for Shoreline's curbside-pickup service, rather than add to traffic and pollution by hauling their loads over the hill.

Another open question, Kinsey said, is what to do with West Marin's yard waste. The Brigade has recommended that green waste - leaves, grass, shrub and tree trimmings - not be buried at a landfill anymore.

Yard waste, plus food waste, wood, and paper, make up about 64 percent of the material that gets buried at the landfill, according to a 1990 study, and 29 percent of that is paper.

The Brigade wants to eliminate yard, food, wood, and paper waste from the overall waste stream. Backyard composting, chipping, and mulching for yard and food waste, and stronger recycling programs for paper are being encouraged.

Residential collection and dropoff programs for yard waste aren't being recommended because the Brigade wants yard waste kept on site. However, chipping and composting at home aren't exactly free either, and Kinsey wants the public to toss around ideas.

Stinson Beach Water District and Bolinas Public Utility District have begun efforts to initiate their own yard waste collection and chipping programs. Stinson Beach is further along. Bolinas still has problems nailing down a site.

For recycling, the Brigade wants to maintain and expand current options, which include Shoreline's offer to collect recyclables at curbside and three dropoff locations - at the Inverness Store, Lagunitas School, and Bolinas School.

The Brigade is recommending that Shoreline promote its curbside recycling program more, and that several new recycling receptacles be put in "high traffic" areas.

The Brigade has also proposed creating an "Everything But Garbage Center" - a recycling buy-back center with receptacles for items not accepted at the curbside, a "re-use yard for household items," and perhaps a composting site.

Money to run the site could come from grants, sale of recyclables, or donations, according to the Brigade's plan, and a nonprofit group, such as Waste Free 2000 could operate the center.

The group will also push for better management of bulky waste and programs that ease the swapping of unwanted items and repair of broken items for use elsewhere.

"Brigadier General" Kinsey said the recommendations will be used by supervisors the next time they hold hearings on Shoreline Disposal's rates. Any new programs, he said, will be incorporated into a new rate schedule.

Also proposed is local waste management advisory panel, which would oversee the programs and seek funding.