Ventura County Materials Exchange Program Encourages the Reuse of Discards 

VCMAX--Discards Available and Wanted, also known as the Ventura County Materials Exchange Program, is one of the county's most popular recycling and reuse programs. The program was modeled after CalMAX, a statewide waste diversion program developed by the California Integrated Waste Management Board in the early 1990s at the height of the landfill crisis. 

The CalMAX materials reuse program was designed to assist jurisdictions in their efforts to meet the waste diversion requirements of the California Integrated Waste Management Act (IWMA). The law requires all cities and counties in the state to reduce landfill disposal by 50 percent or face fines of up to $10,000 per day.

Although Ventura County has achieved its diversion goal, the VCMAX program continues to promote reuse awareness and the concept of sharing unwanted or needed items with residents or nonprofit organizations that can really use them.

The VCMAX program consists of a free catalog published quarterly and a terrific Web site, www.vcmax.org. This FREE program is provided by the County of Ventura and its cities, and is coordinated by the county's Environmental & Energy Resources Department. The VCMAX Web site is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and it is updated with new listings on a daily basis.

Residents can browse through this "virtual warehouse" perusing "wanted" and "available" listings for reusable discards in the following categories: construction, containers, durable goods, electronics, glass, metal, organics, paint and wax, pallets, rubber, textiles, and wood. The Web site includes a button bar on the home page that links residents to the Kid-MAX Craft Corner, Manure-Max, environmental articles, and most importantly, VCMAX--Available @ Auction and VCMAX--For Sale.

The VCMAX Available @ Auction site routinely lists county vehicles and equipment available for auction through Porter Auction in Torrance. The VCMAX--For Sale site lists surplus items the county is willing to sell via closed bids. The Kid-MAX Craft Corner has instructions for fun projects children can create using recyclable materials found in the home such a "Yer Animals," the "All About Me" photo cube, and the "Great White Sandpaper Shark" project. The Kid-MAX Crafts Corner is great for teachers, scout, and youth group leaders because no money has to be expended on the "fixins" to create arts and crafts projects.

VCMAX primarily targets contractors for construction materials and businesses and manufacturers for overstock, off-spec items, obsolete equipment, damaged merchandise, and packaging materials. But residents generate lots of good stuff too! The fall catalog lists a bathtub and tub enclosure, classic 1950s stove, red landscaping gravel, scalloped concrete edging, a near new gas oven and range, and commercial orchard heaters!

Regularly listed "available" materials include free horse manure for composting, wood from a dance floor manufacturer, heavy craft-paper bags, plastic storage containers, and 55-gallon plastic drums with tops. Before VCMAX so many great things were thrown in the trash-now residents can list them as "available" in the catalog and on the Web site. These items are available free, or for a nominal cost (no listing can exceed $100).

For more information about the VCMAX program or to receive a free catalog and get on the mailing list, call Pandee Leachman at the Ventura County Environmental and Energy Resources Department at (805) 289-3120. Remember, a free reuse warehouse is just a phone call away.

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Last updated: August 01, 2008