REDWOOD NEEDLES

Presented by the Sierra Club Redwood Chapter Newsletter, The REDWOOD NEEDLES

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A SORTED AFFAIR

WILD RECYCLING PROGRAMS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

By Jane Bogner, Solano Group

VALCORE's manager, Genie Kaggerud, and I recently attended the Northern California Recycling Association's fifth annual Recycling Update Conference. This annual event shows off innovative recycling programs around California and the nation.

I might as well start with Berkeley programs since that's where serious recycling started in the 1970's. Urban Ore has moved from their Gilman Street location to the southern edge of Berkeley at 7th and Ashby. They now occupy an abandoned two story factory. It's easy to find; just take the Ashby exit of I-80 and turn right at the first light. You can't miss it for the yard is already filled with doors, windows and other salvaged building materials. Their phone number is 510 548-4515.

Now on to the UC Berkeley Campus for a visit to Berkeley Worms. A pilot food waste collection program started by students is now a successful business. They pick up food waste from several co-ops and fraternity houses. They have trained all the cooks to save the types of food their worms like. This food waste is placed into wheeled carts and left on the curb to be picked up next to their other recyclables. Berkeley Worms searched the country for a truck to haul this waste. In Nebraska they found and adapted a cattle feed grinder. Their new worm truck has a mechanical lift that empties the food waste into a hopper where it is ground up on its way to their worm bins.

UC Berkeley's Students Organized for Using Resources Conscientiously and Efficiently (SOURCE) is on a mission to stop campus waste. Each day, the campus produces enough waste to fill a lecture hall. They have an annual Waste Prevention/Reuse Fair. At the end of the spring term they have a Goodwill/Reusables Drive for the dorms, co-ops, sororities and fraternities. They have produced a Junk Mail flyer that includes addresses to stop credit card overload and warranty card scams. E-mail me for a copy.

Back to composting, in Sonoma County a pilot program was conducted to compost food wastes at a restaurant, health food store and annual BBQ event. They used covered composting bins about the size of a large hot tub. Wastes were added and an auger stirred the compost daily producing high quality compost every six weeks.

Kevin Miller, (707 257-9291) recycling coordinator from the City of Napa, spoke about amending their garbage company contract to reward recycling and diversion programs. Steve Moore from Pacific Rim reported on a pilot reuse program in central Contra Costa County. Residents of Moraga could set out unlimited reusable goods such as light furniture, hand tools, toys, bicycles, small working appliances, etc. A truck would come around and pick up items that were truly reusable. Remaining items were picked up the next day as part of an annual clean-up.

Other presenters included:

GrassRoots Recycling Network (www.grrn.org ). Their goal is Zero Waste. They recently encourage a boycott of Coca Cola when Coke broke their promise to make plastic soda bottles out of recycled plastic. Conservatree Paper is back in business promoting wise use of recycled paper. Did you know that 60 percent of all magazines are printed just for their printing stats (e.g. sixty million copies printed) and never sold? Visit them at conservatree.com. Trek, a plastic lumber manufacturer, is building a new plant in the Reno, Nevada area. They use wood waste and plastic bags to make decking material. Trex is available at Foster Lumber. VALCORE will be trying Trex out on the ramp to their new shed.

Jane Bogner is President of the Board of Directors of a grass-roots recycling center (VALCORE Recycling) in Vallejo. "A Sorted Affair" appears bi-weekly in the Vallejo Times-Herald. E-mail her questions about recycling, reducing waste, and composting at jabogner@juno.com or call 707 644-9183

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