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Recycling Market Development Zones RMDZ News, Winter 1999 (February) |
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In This Issue
Quarterly Calendar | On the Move Feature ArticlesOrganic Markets to ExpandA significant 30 percent of California’s solid waste stream consists of compostable organic materials, most of which is still being dumped into landfills. These yard or landscape compostables include leaves and grass, prunings and trimmings; wood waste, including branches and stumps; food and agricultural crop residues. To expand organic markets and to reduce organics landfilling, the Integrated Waste Management Board (IWMB) has priority-tagged a new Organic Materials Management (OMM) section under the leadership of Dr. Howard Levenson of the IWMB. This team will partner with public and private sectors to support organics research, education, promotion, and regulatory revision to achieve diversion of 5 to 7 million additional tons of organic materials per year. Resources include $1.2 million in contracts for fiscal 1998/99 and additional staff. Guided by an internal "Greening Team" performance plan, OMM staff will work closely with local and State government and other end users in recycling, manufacturing, and agricultural sectors. Future team work includes solving multimedia environmental issues related to organics and fostering sustainable and cost-effective use of organic materials to revitalize soil, control erosion, and conserve water. The Board’s Organic Materials Management section is carrying out much of this work. OMM’s short-term mission is to find a home—either onsite where organic materials are generated or at some other place where they can be beneficially used—for the millions of tons of organic materials that now are disposed of in landfills. In the longer term, its mission is to foster the sustainable and cost-effective use of organic materials. Diversion of these materials greatly reduces environmental impacts at landfills and yields benefits such as soil revitalization, erosion control, and water conservation. In keeping with the approach outlined in the Greening Team performance plan, the OMM section is forming partnerships to conduct activities such as:
The section also maintains listings of compost and mulch processors, worm bin distributors, and home composting bin distributors; disseminates fact sheets and videos that present the results of the Board’s seven agricultural compost demonstration projects; and serves in an ex-officio capacity on the California Compost Quality Council. A new Web site, "Organics Outlook," became operational in fall 1998 at www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Organics/. This site will grow and evolve over time to disseminate information on the wide range of activities associated with organics. Major headings on the site are:
CalMAX "Special Organics Edition"CalMAX staff is proud to have completed its first "Special Organics Edition" of the CalMAX catalog. This new catalog contains the CalMAX materials listings, but also contains a detailed description of the Board’s newly created Organic Materials Management program. The OMM programs are designed to help develop markets for organic materials and reduce the amount of these materials being landfilled. Another bit of news is the hiring of a new CalMAX Co-coordinator, Deborah Orrill, who will work with Kevin Taylor to expand the program. Ms. Orrill, who most recently worked for Environ Communications, has been hired by the IWMB to assist in promoting the CalMAX program. She has extensive experience with waste management issues and has worked directly with many jurisdictions in Southern California. Finally, by utilizing our interactive Web site you can use CalMAX as your own "miniMAX." Because CalMAX divides California into 16 regions, you can use it on a regional or statewide level. Through our Web site, you and your constituents can review local or regional listings in addition to statewide, or place new listings into the database. If you have questions on how this can work for you please contact CalMAX staff toll-free at (877) 520-9703, e-mail calmax@ciwmb.ca.gov, or visit our Web site at www.ciwmb.ca.gov/CalMAX/. Zoning InRMDZ Investor ForumThe Investor Forums assist recycling-based manufacturing businesses to obtain operations financing. Candidates have already, or are in the process of, developing new technologies. They do not, however, have enough capital to sustain a viable business. The Investor Forums provide candidates opportunity to present their business plans to a panel of investors. The panel critiques both the presentation and the plan. Panel members may be venture capitalists, individual investors, and representatives of banks and other financial institutions. For additional information, contact Raffy Kouyoumdjian at (916) 341-6524. New Reporting Deadline for the RMDZ Annual Status ReportThe deadline for zone administrators to submit RMDZ annual status reports has been changed to January 31 annually. Historically, reports have been due on the anniversary date of your final zone designation. Board staff has received numerous requests to change the timing of the required submittal. As a result, the next due date for all zones is 1/31/00 and should reflect RMDZ activity for the 1999 calendar year. Your report should cover the recycling-based businesses that you have assisted in establishing or expanding. We are not interested simply in the businesses you have contacted (through a survey or other means), but in the recycling-based businesses that you or someone in your RMDZ provided assistance to. This is important because ultimately we need to report to our Board the impact the RMDZ program is having on recycling-business development statewide. The ultimate goal of the annual reports is to ascertain how many tons have been diverted and how many jobs created as a result of the RMDZ program. Compiling the data throughout the year will make the year end compilation easier and more comprehensive. Please contact your RMDZ liaison if you have any questions regarding the RMDZ annual status reports. Thank you for your cooperation. New Low Interest RateThe loan program interest rate decreased to 5.6 percent for the period ending June 30, 1999. This rate will be in place through June of 1999, when the State Treasurer’s office will announce the new rate. Board ResourcesNew Video Shows Compost BenefitsIn an effort to promote the increased use of compost and mulch in agriculture, the California Integrated Waste Management Board announced the availability of a free video entitled "Two Green Thumbs Up," which highlights five Board-funded demonstrations of compost use in agriculture. The demonstration projects are designed to promote sustainable markets for yard trimmings as compost and mulch in agriculture. The video promotes the benefits of compost use discovered during demonstration projects held in Alameda, Fresno, Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, and Tulare counties. The farm advisors, growers, researchers, and compost and mulch producers who participated in the demonstrations discuss benefits such as increased organic material in soil, increased plant health and vigor, an increase in moisture retention, and a decrease in fertilizer and pesticide applications. In addition, the Board's organics Web site (www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Organics/) provides information on the beneficial uses of organic materials and a source listing for compost and mulch. The Board’s organics Web site complements the video by supplying visitors with detailed reports and contacts for the demonstration projects. In addition, along with information for commercial landscapers and home gardeners, the site offers information on the Board’s recently adopted comprehensive Greening Team Plan, which identifies the targets for reducing the disposal of compostable materials over the next year. Grant OpportunitiesThe Waste Board offers funding opportunities authorized by legislation to assist public and private entities in the safe and effective management of the waste stream. While a number of RMDZs are already taking advantage of these grant opportunities, other RMDZs may be unaware of these additional resources. All of the grant specific information and applications can be viewed on the Waste Board’s Web site at www.ciwmb.ca.gov. To give you an idea of what we have available, here is a brief preview of some of the grants the IWMB offers: Tire Products and Processing Promotion Grant: The Board appropriated $320,000 for the program. Eligible applicants may request up to $80,000. The deadline for applications was February 11, 1999. HHW Grant Seventh Cycle: Approximately $3 million in grant funds will be available for the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) grants, seventh cycle. The deadline for submittal of applications was January 22, 1999. The grant term is from May 1, 1999 through March 31, 2001. Individual jurisdictions may request up to $120,000 and regional groups (two or more cities/counties) may request up to $300,000. All local governments in California with direct responsibility for HHW management may apply for funding. Playground Cover and Surfacing Grant: The Waste Board received 51 applications for a total of $1,014,000. The Board appropriated $300,000 for the program. The deadline for submittal of applications was December 4, 1998. Eligible applicants could have requested up to $25,000. Staff is organizing an application review panel. Local Government Waste Tire and Public Education and Amnesty Day Grant: The Waste Board received 18 applications for a total of $206,700. The Board appropriated $150,000 for the program. Eligible applicants could have requested $15,000 each. The deadline for submittal of applications was November 30, 1998. A panel reviewed the applications and staff will be preparing an agenda item with funding recommendations for the Board’s consideration. For additional information visit the IWMB Web site at www.ciwmb.ca.gov or contact your RMDZ liaison. Quarterly CalendarMarch 2 March 3 March 4 March 8–10 March 17 March 22–25 March 23-24 March 31–April 1 March 31–April 2 April 7–11 April 8 April 27–28 May 6 May 17 May 17-19 May 26-27 June 3 June 6-9 June 22-23 July 12 July 27-28 On the MoveIn early January the IWMB unanimously elected Board Member Dan Eaton, 47, Democrat, to serve as Chairman. Eaton officially assumed his new duties January 30, after Chairman Daniel G. Pennington resigned his chairmanship in January. Eaton was appointed to the Board January 1998 by then Speaker of the Assembly and now Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante. Eaton, a UCLA and Loyola Law School graduate, has been active in California government and politics since the 1970s. Co-chairman Robert C. Frazee retired the end of February. His term would have expired January 2001. This action is the latest in a series of changes in the membership of the Board, which has seen Wesley Chesbro elected to the State Senate and his post filled by former State Senator David A. Roberti. Chesbro, who has served on the Board since 1990, resigned on December 4, after having been elected to the State Senate in November. State Senator Roberti, President Pro Tem of the Senate for a record 13 years and a powerful member of the State Legislature for 28 years, was appointed December 8 by the Senate Rules Committee to serve out Waste Board Member Wesley Chesbro's term. Waste Board staff on the move include the addition of new loan staff, Sharon Green, who joined the loan program in October 1998. Sharon comes from Bank of America and has over 30 years of lending experience. Sharon will be responsible for the administrative tasks of loan closing, managing the outside contracts, and problem loan collections. In November, Charles Haubrich transferred from the loan program to the California Youth Authority. We wish Charles success in the new position as a construction analyst and thank him for the tremendous amount of business development he conducted during the past three years. We will miss working with Charles and wish him continued success in his new endeavors. Vol. 6, #1—February 1999, Publication # 412-99-007 Note From the EditorThe RMDZ News is published three times a year for zone administrators and other interested parties by the Integrated Waste Management Board (IWMB). Copyright 1999, all rights reserved. |
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Last updated: November 01, 2007
Recycling Market Development Zone Program http://www/ciwmb.ca.gov/RMDZ/
Technical Assistance: rteam@ciwmb.ca.gov (916) 341-6600 Loan Program: loans@ciwmb.ca.gov (916) 341-6530 |
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