California Integrated Waste Management Board

 

CalMax Logo

Search Ads

Create an Ad

Subscribe to Alerts

Report an Exchange

Local Exchanges

Other Resources

Feature Articles

Promotion

Guidelines

Disclaimer

California Materials Exchange

CalMAX Connections and Sustainability

CalMAX Connections Sampler (Summer '05) 
Recent connections including the following organizations: the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company (burlap), the Boys and Girls Club Valley of the Moon (sewing crafts and photography equipment), Kobey's Swap Meet (chain-link fencing), and Mustang-Spirit, a horse rescue non-profit organization.

Cradle to Grave Recycling (Summer '05) 
The Tidee Didee Diaper Service explains the many uses of cloth diapers.

Books Aloud (Spring '05) 
Through CalMAX, the Books Aloud organization has been able to give used audio tape containers the Resource Area for Teachers (RAFT) to reuse.

Freecycling (Spring '05) 
The Freecycle Network is another tool for waste reduction through reuse.

The Wooden Window (Fall '04) 
Through CalMAX, the Wooden Windows company connected with Volkman Horse Stables who use the leftover wood shavings as bedding, and then further reuse it as compost.

Burbank Recycle Center (Fall '04) 
The Burbank Recycle Center, which has used CalMAX to recycle its e-waste, has a materials recovery facility, buyback/drop-off center, used oil center, compost corner, and learning center.

CalMAX Connections Sampler (Summer '04) 
Recent connections including: Sacramento Regional Waste Water Treatment Plant's Bufferlands (dripline); Franklin Elementary School's Garden of Learning (dripline), burlap bags, plastic buckets; Elk Grove Community Garden (dripline and burlap); Mills-Peninsula Health Services (office furniture and medical equipment); Emeezze Cloth Recycling (clothing); used fence boards for a chicken coop; and patio doors for an organic farm greenhouse.

California Hardwood Producers:  Making Urban Forestry Viable (Spring '04) 
California Hardwood Producers of Auburn turns removed urban street and park trees into beautiful wood.

Waste Not, Want Not:  Sustainable Food Production Through Community Supported Agriculture and Organic Farming (Winter '04) 
Community-supported agriculture and organic farming offer possibilities for sustainability, including waste reduction and resource conservation, as exemplified by Laguna Farm of Sebastopol and Soil Born Farm of Sacramento.

Occidental Arts & Ecology Center (Fall '03) 
Reuse is an implicit part of the philosophy of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, located near the town of Occidental in Sonoma County.

Triad Incorporated (Summer '03) 
CalMAX match-of-the-year winner in 1996, Triad, Inc., is still working hard at reuse and recycling, including recycling and composting 100,000 to 250,000 tons of organic material annually.

Vegetable Oil: Not Just for French Fries (Spring '03) 
Electrical Engineer Tod Kershaw uses used vegetable oil to make environmentally-friendly biodiesel fuel.

Reinventing the Wheel to Stop Waste (Winter '03) 
An inventor with a passion to reuse and stop waste, Davis resident Larry Fisher is constantly on the lookout for reusable items and new ideas. A longtime CalMAX user, Fisher also frequents the used metal recovery bins operated as a service to the public by Davis Waste Removal.

California Design Enterprises Waxes Environmental (Fall '02) 
A manufacturer of candles and wax products in Sylmar, California, sometimes generates large amounts of surplus paraffin wax-about 47,000 pounds every year-in excellent condition for recycling through CalMAX.

Computers for Classrooms Program (Summer '02)
With a volunteer staff, Computers for Classrooms, Inc. refurbishes computers and then donates them to schools.

Shallow Creek Ranch (Spring '02) 
Shallow Creek Ranch uses waste products as a food source for worms and recycles it into a variety of vermiculture products.

Ecology ActionProMAX (Spring '02) 
Ecology Action's ProMAX, a partner of CalMAX, facilitates a cross-country exchange of historic theatre seats.

Recycled Glassworks (Winter '02) 
Recycled Glassworks of Oakland creates one-of-a-kind pieces using material found in CalMAX

U.C. Berkeley Reuse Grant Project (Winter '02)
University of California at Berkeley uses their reuse assistance grant funds to establish a materials exchange on campus.

Successful Exchanges...Briefs (Fall '01) 
The Presbyterian Church of Los Gatos' choir robes find a new home with a middle school in the Bay Area.  And, Cragmont Elementary School in Berkeley receives material from San Quentin Prison.

Hotels and Motels Use CalMAX (Fall '01) 
Barneby's Hotel in Manhattan Beach donates 24 non-working air conditioners to a nonprofit organization.  Also, the Napa Valley Budget Inn connects with a Sacramento business to bring new life to discarded sheets.

Scroungers' Center for Re-Usable Art Parts (Fall '01) 
SCRAP, a nonprofit organization that collects surplus materials and distributes them to schools and arts groups, uses CalMAX to assist in the diversion of approximately 200 tons from landfills during the past two years.

Surplus Property in San Mateo (Summer '01) 
San Mateo County's Surplus Property Office utilizes CalMAX.

A Successful Connection for the Whole Community (Summer '01) 
The County of Los Angeles, along with the cities of Palmdale and Lancaster conduct electronic equipment collection events.

Building a House...Using CalMAX (Summer '01) 
CalMAX is utilized to locate used construction materials for a home/office project showcasing the use of reclaimed resources.

Dinosaurs...In CalMAX (Summer '01) 
Academy Studios in Novato connects with Marko Foam Products of Hayward to eliminate the disposal of excess foam dinosaur parts.

CalMAX Marketers (Spring '01) 
CalMAX's best promoters are its customers. This month's Connection highlights four women who are all helping to keep useable materials out of the landfill by promoting CalMAX and helping their schools, businesses, and communities at the same time.

Toters, Logs, Storage Yards, and Palm Trees (Winter '01) 
A reuse connection is established between the City of Claremont and a nursery that resulted in the use of old toters as pots for large palm trees.

CalMAX Helps Place Excess Office Equipment (Winter '01) 
A reuse connection is established between the Northern California Media Workers Union #39521 and several Bay Area recipients who needed office furniture and accessories.

Lending A Glove, To Help Keep California Beautiful (Fall '00) 
AFG Industries donates gloves to Keep America Beautiful in Del Mar, California for The Great America Cleanup.

Electronics: Reuse & Recycling in Southern California (Fall '00) 
Buyers Consultation Services in Canoga Park, California offers electronic recycling and reuse to local Southern California business owners.

Mail Order Health and a Sustainable Environment (Summer '00) 
A mail order health food company, Gold Mine Natural Foods, benefits by using recycled and reusable materials.

Bagging Those Connections (Summer '00) 
Cal Sierra Machines, a manufacturer in Pomona, has found new uses for large woven polypropylene bags.

Kids Turn Trash to Art, Thanks to Local Business (Spring '00) 
Children's Museum of Los Angeles uses recycled materials for kid's art projects.

Zimmer Offers Free Containers (Spring '00)
Freebies Anyone? Can you use the large, durable containers this Sacramento company gives away through CalMAX?

No Stone Left Unturned! (Winter '00)
City Farmers Nursery in San Diego finds over 24  tons of free materials from placing "wanted" ads in CalMAX.

Local Government: Tuolumne County and Local Nonprofit Share Resources (Winter '00)
A reuse connection is established between Tuolumne County and Solutions, a local nonprofit schools reuse program.

CalMAX Listings Help International Recovery and Reuse Efforts (Fall '99)
Harrington Metal Recyclers (HMR), a full service asset recovery company, is now helping organizations find new homes for a broad range of business equipment. HMR is now an international organization with processing and distribution facilities that span three continents.

Re-Sets Revisits CalMAX (Fall '99)
Movie and studio set recycler, one of the first CalMAX "Match of the Catalog," exchanges materials ranging from office equipment to lumber, tubing and pipe.

Plastics Exporter Profits from Patience!  (Summer '99)
Persistence proved to be a virtue for a CalMAX lister who was able to obtain 250,000 pounds of plastic after listing for three years.

San Mateo County Paints the Town! (Summer '99)
The County of San Mateo's collection and distribution program for latex paint results in many schools, nonprofits, etc.  having a new coat of paint.

Reuse Opportunity "Not for the Birds" (Spring '99)
In this Special Construction & Demolition edition of CalMAX, entrepreneur Rick Holliday describes his "hobby-turned-business" where he now creates artistic and innovative birdhouses and planters from waste wood.

CalMAX "Cements" Another Solid Connection (Spring '99)
Jet Set Cement of San Leandro leads the way with his use of one-time candy filled pails, which are now used to "cement" the future of his rapidly growing company.

Turning Organic Residues into Agricultural Riches (Winter '99)
In this Special Organics edition of CalMAX, a former Match of the Year winner Triad Energy Resources is highlighted. Triad has been making innovative connections between organic residues and the agricultural industry.

Studio Set Recovery and Wood Waste Management (Fall '98)
A company called "Looney Bins" recovers and reuses materials from old movie and television studio sets, while "California Biomass, Inc" finds new uses for wood residuals other than just burning.

Salvaging Tiles/Bricks and Corporate Greening (Summer '98)
Old Town State Historic Park in San Diego finds a home for bricks and roofing tiles while a company in Sonoma County utilizes CalMAX to salvage obsolete electronic components, office equipment, and miscellaneous materials.

Deconstruction Materials and Horse Manure (Spring '98)
A demolition contracting business in Castroville uses CalMAX to market salvaged lumber, wood chips, and trees while an English riding and boarding stable in Orangevale finds a home for manure and shavings.

Just One Word: Plastic (Winter '98)
Two Southern California companies use CalMAX to obtain thousands of pounds of plastic scrap, isocyanates, and urethane resins.

CalMAX Helps Film Studio Keep Plugged In (Fall '97)
A high-tech film studio in Riverside County uses CalMAX to obtain uninterrupted power sources  from a printing facility in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Reuse Is A Family Affair With CalMAX (Summer '97)
A family-owned business in Southern California uses CalMAX to buy surplus materials such as chemicals, solvents, pigments, dyes, etc. and sells them at a discount.

Business Uses CalMAX to Collect Computers (May/June '97)
A Chico-based business recovers computers and electronic scrap and donates used computers to schools throughout Northern California.

CalMAX Helps 'Bale' Out Rice Grower (March/April '97)
A farmer in Willows finds an alternative to burning rice straw through CalMAX.

Small Town Recycler Makes It Big With CalMAX (Jan/Feb '97)
A recycling business in Ventura acquires dimensional lumber, plastic, laser toner cartridges, and various materials through CalMAX.

CalMAX Finds Companies Willing To Take The Wrap (Nov/Dec '96)
A newspaper in Riverside uses CalMAX to find an alternative to disposing plastic shrink wrap and core plugs.

Home Sweet Home; CalMAX Helps Dreams Come True (Sep/Oct '96)
A man uses CalMAX to obtain construction materials to build a home in Ensenada, Mexico.

State Agency And Private Business Create Reuse And Recycle Partnership (July/Aug '96)
An employee of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation finds homes for obsolete computer and electronic equipment through CalMAX.

This One's For The Books (May/June '96)
The Colusa County Superintendent of Schools uses CalMAX to avoid disposing of 40,000 law books from a defunct law school.

Feature Articles

 

Last updated: December 30, 2008


California Materials Exchange (CalMAX) http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/CalMAX/  
CalMAX@ciwmb.ca.gov  (877) 520-9703