Coordinator Update Summer 2004

Coordinator Update

by Diana Rivera

Recently, a friend shared a story about a triathlon in which she and her sister had participated. They are both forty-something years old. In the tradition of the inherent drama of any good race, at one point, her sister stumbled, taking a nasty spill off her racing bike. She hurriedly got up, seemingly undaunted by the nasty scrape on her arm, and jumped right back onto the bike to finish the race.

Excitedly, they recounted the experience of completing the race, especially about the finishing numbers. They competed against the clock but compared their times against women in all age groups. They ended up with better times than many people that were in their 20s and 30s.

I asked her to what she attributed her impressive performance: was it training, diet, courage? Laughingly, in a self-effacing, teeth-clenching sort of way, she said that she had raced and beaten some of the younger women because at her age, the thing that propelled her was sheer will. We shared a pretty good laugh. Indeed, with age and experience we are able to reach inside ourselves and push on beyond pain and lactic acid build-up, by our sheer will.

When budgets are tight and we are understaffed and overworked, how do we get motivated? Can we will ourselves to feel creative? I don’t know, I usually resort to caffeine, but the folks in Contra Costa County are setting a good example in motivation. The recycling staff is one motivated team! Within a half hour of submitting a request for a CalMAX portal, their website was ready to operate with a new page and information about links to the Contra Costa County Materials Exchange, CoCoMAX. Within a few minutes they were sending an e-mail to all their counterparts through the county, letting them know that the new portal page was available. This is a collaborative effort between the CIWMB and Contra Costa County. Visit this new mini-max at www.ciwmb.ca.gov/CalMAX/cocomax/ or www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/depart/cd/recycle/

IN THIS ISSUE

Maggie Coulter has put together a nice sampler collection of CalMAX Connections stories. The stories reflect the diversity of organizations that use our program; from the Sacramento Regional Waste Water Treatment Plant exchanging thousands of feet of tubing for drip lines, to a small school in Oakland that has acquired tubing for an elementary school gardening project.

In the creative reuse feature, Sarah Weimer has a story about Josswood Designs, a company in the Los Angeles area that makes furniture out of reclaimed wood.

In the Electronics Update article, Terri Cronin once again discusses updated e-waste legislation. Remember that the Board’s website includes an Electronic Product Directory, with more than 300 listings of collection facilities. For more information, see www.ciwmb.ca.gov/electronics/collection

The Insert section of the catalog is about textile and carpet recycling and features a number of companies in the Los Angeles area that recycle this material.

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Last updated: August 01, 2008