The pickings, however, are getting slimmer. For more than a decade, Oxnard residents have used single containers with a wall down the middle to separate trash from recyclables.

But increasing amounts of trash wind up in the recycle side and vice-versa. The upshot is contaminated newspaper or cardboard, ruined by moist garbage or half-filled plastic bottles of soft drinks or bottled water.

"If newspapers or cardboard are wet, it's going to the landfill," said Eric Okada, an environmental resources supervisor. "We're trying to recycle as much as we can, but when the fibers get wet, we can't process or sell them. So it would be beneficial for us to go to a three-cart system."

The city is contemplating just that. By separating trash, recyclables and yard waste into three containers, Oxnard would save money and divert more recyclables from landfills.

On Feb. 5, the City Council is expected to hear a report and provide feedback on a proposed three-can system.

The change would cost the city about $3.15 million, but trash and recycle pickup rates would not go up, said Dennis Scala, the city's interim director of Environmental Resources.

Converting would take about three months, with the city spending most of the money to buy more cans. The annual debt would run about $400,000 over 10 years, but the city would pay for it with savings on reduced truck maintenance and increased revenue from recycled newspaper and cardboard, Scala said.

Contaminated recyclables cost the city about $192,000 a year in lost sales and $120,000 a year to truck those discards to landfills, Scala said.

The city now diverts a healthy 68 percent of its recyclables from landfills — well above the 50 percent mandated by law — but that could be threatened if contamination rates continue to soar, Scala said.

Meanwhile, so-called split containers — guaranteed for 10 years and now 11 years old — are falling apart. Broken containers stress hydraulic arms on pickup trucks and cost the city about $90,000 a year in repairs, Scala said.

"It was a good idea when it first came out, but it didn't catch on with the industry," Scala said of the split containers.

Three-can systems are now the standard, with only Oxnard and Visalia using split containers, he added.

One advantage of the proposed system is increased capacity, Scala said. Split containers devote 55 gallons each to refuse and recyclables. New refuse and recyclable cans with black and blue lids, respectively, would hold 95 gallons each. A green 105-gallon can would take yard waste.

For those with simpler needs and lighter loads, the city would provide 65-gallon cans on request.

Pickup schedules for the city's 35,000 customers would change. Trash would be picked up weekly. Recyclables and yard waste would be picked up every other week.

Councilman Dean Maulhardt supports the proposal but worries success could bring an unintended downside.

Most people want to recycle, but if the new bins overflow, the city would have to increase pickups. That could mean buying more trucks and hiring more drivers, Maulhardt said.

"I would rather almost have that issue than sending recyclables to landfills, which I think we're currently doing," Maulhardt said.

Councilman John Zaragoza, Oxnard's refuse superintendent from 1972 to 1993, also supports the idea but has the same concern.

"If there's a lot of confusion, we should figure out a way to pick up on a weekly basis," Zaragoza said. "Let it work and find out what the problems are and let them change it accordingly. I think it's a good concept. People love to recycle. Everybody's thinking green."