Santa Barbara Bank & Trust is going 'green'

A recycling pilot program at Santa Barbara Bank & Trust is well on its way to keeping as much as eight tons of waste out of a landfill.

The company had no formal recycling program in place for its 1,400 employees until it began developing one with the city of Santa Barbara about this time last year.

"We wanted to step it up," bank spokesperson Randy Weiss said.

The bank and the city developed a plan to recycle 40 percent of the paper, plastic, metal and glass the 10 Santa Barbara branches no longer need.

The 10 branches will likely reach the 40 percent goal in a month or two and are already diverting about 40 yards or seven to eight tons of recyclables from a Goleta landfill, said Alelia Parenteau, city of Santa Barbara's recycling coordinator.

It's an ambitious plan, because they had nothing to start with, Parenteau said.

Initially, the program affects the company's 10 Santa Barbara-area branches but will eventually spread to all 32 branches in Northern California, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties— including two branches in Camarillo, two in Simi Valley, one in Thousand Oaks and one in Westlake Village—keeping more tons of recyclables out of California landfills.

The 40 percent target doesn't include the stacks of documents the 10 branches hire a company to shred for them and then recycle. Add that in the mix and the company may be keeping another 20 percent of its recycled waste out of the local landfill, Parenteau said.

The bank's recycling efforts includes printer cartridges, but when branches purchase new printers, they opt for those that don't have replaceable cartridges. The company store stocks recycled grocery bags, which employees can order and the company gives away as promotional gifts at special events and to customers.

Recycling is only one step the company is taking to help the environment. Santa Barbara Bank & Trust also encourages employees to take alternative transportation.

By logging on an internal company website, employees can search for carpool partners inside and outside of the company, learn about the environmental and cost-saving benefits of alternative transportation and map their route to work.

A new incentive program pays eligible employees up to $35 for taking public transportation and allows them to use pretax dollars to pay for additional transportation expenses. Although the program is in its infancy, it's showing signs of acceptance.

Since August, employees using alternative transportation have saved 185 vehicle trips, 274 gallons of gasoline, kept more than $3,000 in their wallets and more than 5,300 pounds of emissions from being released into the air, Weiss said.

"It's an ongoing process, so we're always looking to do more things as we can," Weiss said. "It's just a part of who we are."

Pacific Capital Bank operates Santa Barbara Bank & Trust and four other banks in Central California and has a total of 48 branches and $7.4 billion in assets, according to the company's website.

Pacific Capital Bancorp is the parent company.