2001 Trash Cutter Awards Program Case Studies

Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority: 
Best Creative Partnerships Program

• Program Description
• Program Summary
• Costs
• Benefits
• Contact

Program Description

The Reuse and Cleanup Days program provides annual curbside collection of reusable materials through a partnership between the Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority’s (CCCSWA) six public agencies (combined population of approximately 291,000), two private haulers, and several nonprofit organizations.

Program Summary

The Reuse and Cleanup Days program is conducted in conjunction with Allied Industries’ Pleasant Hill Bayshore Disposal Division (Bayshore Disposal) solid waste bulky curbside cleanup. This single-family residential program makes reuse convenient and fills a service gap left by charitable organizations that no longer collect donations from residents’ homes.

Prior to the program, Bayshore collected bulky “cleanup” wastes curbside for landfill twice annually, plus one annual on-call collection. Many of the items were reusable. To divert this material, the CCCSWA hired Pacific Rim Recycling, Inc. to collect reusable materials on one day and tag unacceptable items that Bayshore Disposal collects curbside the next day. In addition, Bayshore Disposal separately collects and diverts yard clippings set out for “cleanup” disposal.

The East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, an Oakland based nonprofit organization specializing in material reuse sales and adding value to found materials, locates markets for the materials. The Depot sells a portion of the reusable materials as low cost art supplies for teachers, artists, and individuals. Through the Depot’s connections, Pacific Rim Recycling sends materials such as clothing, computers, and household items for distribution to St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County, Oregon. In addition, furniture, bicycles, and other needed materials are regularly provided to several Contra Costa nonprofit agencies.

In July 2001, the Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority sponsored its first distribution fair where free reusable items from the cleanup days were distributed to nonprofit agencies and their clients. The event displayed materials contained in three tightly packed 160-square-foot roll-off bins. Grateful families walked, drove, and bicycled away with many items that were new to them.

Costs

Despite a high cost per ton of reusable items collected, the program is extremely popular with residents, non-profit organizations, and local public agencies. In 2001, the cost per ton of recycled materials was approximately $118. The cost per ton disposed is estimated to be $131 compared to $514 per ton diverted through the reuse program. However, taking into consideration the program’s contribution to social, economic, and environmental benefits to the Contra Costa Community as well as waste diversion, the CCCSWA believes that the program’s benefits far exceed its costs.

Benefits

A telephone survey showed that material diverted and donated by the program would have been landfilled if curbside reuse collection did not exist. In 2001, its third year, 34 percent of the 61,000 eligible households participated, setting out an average of 33 pounds of reusable items. This is a 213 percent increase in the number of households participating from the year 2000. The total diversion through the program in 2001 was 347 tons, a 50 percent increase in tonnage from the year 2000. Adding yard waste collection resulted an additional 416 tons of yard clippings diverted.

For Further Information Contact:

Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority
1280 Civic Drive, Suite #210
Walnut Creek, CA 94596-7220
(925) 906-1801
authority@wastediverison.org