Recycling Market Development Zone

Long Beach

Long Beach, with a population of 429,000, is the fifth largest city in California. The Port of Long Beach is the largest exporter of secondary materials on the West Coast. The Recycling Market Development Zone (RMDZ) lies entirely within the City of Long Beach and encompasses virtually all industrial and commercially zoned property in the city.

• Incentives
• Zone Activities
• Infrastructure
• Employment
• Contact

Incentives

CIWMB offers low-interest loans and technical assistance. Local incentives include expedited permit processing and low-interest commercial and industrial loans that can be used for facility construction, expansion, rehabilitation, and equipment purchase. A micro-loan program is also available for businesses. The City’s Career Transition Center is nationally recognized as a leader in worker retraining and employee placement. There are several paid employee training programs available. As an Enterprise Zone designated by the State Trade & Commerce Agency, businesses are eligible to receive such incentives as sales and use tax credits, hiring credits, business expense deductions, net operating loss carryover, employee tax credits, and net interest deduction for lenders.

Zone Activities

The Long Beach zone is one of the most active developers of recycling manufacturing in the state. Noted successes include Talco Plastics and the Amberwick Corporation, among many others. Activities are conducted by experienced managers trained in financing, project management and facilitation, environmental permitting, and industrial relations.

Infrastructure

The area is served by five major freeways: Artesia (91), Long Beach (710), San Diego (405), San Gabriel River (605), and Terminal Island (SR47). Three rail lines—Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, and Santa Fe—serve the zone, and the deepwater Port of Long Beach offers over 65 berths. There are 25 square miles of industrial and commercially zoned land, which includes 400 manufacturers.

Employment

As a result of Long Beach’s large labor pool of both skilled and unskilled workers, there is a need for generating moderate- to low-income jobs. All this combined with recent layoffs from the aerospace and defense industries provides Long Beach with an extensive pool of available workers.

Contact Information

Long Beach RMDZ http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/RMDZ/LongBeach/Default.asp Jim Kuhl, Manager Enviro Services Bureau, City of Long Beach 2929 East Willow St. Long Beach, CA 90806 Phone: 562-570-2850 Fax: 562-570-2861 Email: jakuhl@ci.long-beach.ca.us CIWMB Contacts for this RMDZ: Zone Liaison: Joseph Rasmussen Loan Officer:

Zone Search/Map

Last updated: September 23, 2008