CalMAX Summer 2005

The CalMAX Model. What makes CalMAX so special? It’s a model for the world as it could be—where people help meet each others’ needs and recognize the interrelatedness of all of us. There’s more to it than my trash is your treasure. It’s a do-good, feel-good, cooperative venture that encourages creativity, vision, and connection. It saves resources, makes friendships, and weaves heartwarming human interest stories. CalMAX isn’t just a materials exchange; it’s a precursor to the better world we’re creating by optimal use of today’s communication tools. CalMAX predates EBay and debuted when the global economy and Internet connections ‘round the world were still a vague concept for most of us.

Think of how your life has evolved, using the CalMAX model, since the first MAX catalog was published in January 1992. I recently looked at that premier edition and remembered my coffee break with Jerry Henderson, the Grandfather of CalMAX, who urged me apply for the job as coordinator just as he was moving on to a new assignment. He had just started to cut and paste the first catalog together when I took over the scissors.

History. Speaking of Jerry, I thought you’d all like to know how CalMAX came to be—and to whom we owe the honor. CalMAX was modeled after IMEX, the Industrial Materials Exchange, which has operated in King County (Seattle), Washington, since 1990. Although IMEX focused on hazardous waste, Jerry, who was also involved in that start-up, saw the potential to use this same concept with nonhazardous materials in California. With a lot of help from his friends, supervisors, and other insiders who caught the excitement of the program’s possibilities, Jerry succeeded in persuading the Board that CalMAX was a good idea. Ironically, IMEX recently decided to dispense with its printed catalog in favor of going 100 percent electronic. Even without planning it, CalMAX continues to mirror its original inspiration.

Tribute/Memorabilia. I thought it would be a fitting tribute to poll the people that have staffed CalMAX throughout the years to get their favorite memories, fondest matches of the catalog, and their best-loved MAXims. A tribute is not necessarily a eulogy. CalMAX is hardly dying—it’s just changing forms. I’d like to tip my hat to CalMAX while it’s still full of life. (Please help us put to rest any rumors about the demise of CalMAX. It isn’t going away. It’s just e-volving to a single form as an e-MAX.

On that subject, there’s no arguing. In an unscientific poll among CalMAX staff and readers, the most memorable match throughout the years actually did involve funerals—the “Cradle to Grave” recycling story.

But that’s not all! One by one, here are some snapshots from the various MAXers for this album:

Diana Rivera, currently at the CalMAX helm, shares these memories:

Most Potentially Scandalous: Several businessmen offered Diana trips and commissions if she would find someone to take the materials they had stored in a warehouse.

Most Discouraging to a Free Market Economy: Several criticisms were made of CalMAX for being “too business friendly.”

Very Cute, But Not Appropriate: An ad for bunnies and kittens.

Most Quintessentially CalMAX: Diana shared that although there have been many stories and exchanges that fit this title, a recent exchange comes to mind as quintessentially CalMAX. The Wooden Window, a company in Oakland that manufactures windows, especially for older homes, making them more energy-efficient with modern windows. A by-product of the window making operations is large amounts of sawdust. They connected with a rancher in the Livermore area who needed sawdust for his horses stalls. The sawdust was used as bedding for the horses, and after it became soiled, was used for compost. After use in the stalls, the material is mixed with compost and it has a third life in their garden and the gardens of friends and neighbors.

And besides, who doesn’t love a nice horse story?

Kevin Taylor says helping businesses and people is what makes working at CalMAX so enjoyable. “It feels good knowing the customers appreciate the program and the work we do.” He considers bringing the CalMAX database in-house to be one of the greatest group achievements of the staff and associates. Kevin, along with Ken Decio of the Board, and Brenda Smyth, then with Phase III Consulting, accomplished this big job in a true team effort. This step allowed the staff to directly access the database and prepare the catalog for printing without the help of an outside contractor. This saved the State considerable dollars and helped the team to better serve its CalMAX clients.

In one of his many favorite adventures with Ken, Kevin’s most memorable match involved Triad, Inc., a soil amendment company started by Mike Daley. Triad used CalMAX to find many different types of organic and inorganic materials to make custom-blended soil amendments. (Think designer compost.) Mike’s company diverted many tons of materials from landfills and was a 1995 Match of the Year winner.

According to Kevin, this CalMAX star was a good bet with high stakes. “I also fondly remember the incredible steak luncheon Triad held thanking their customers and others who helped them become successful,” he told me.

Ken Decio reminisces about movie leftovers—not a Looney Toon, but a Looney Bin. Looney Bins, a company in Sun Valley, collects wood, cardboard, metal, plastic, and other salvageable items generated at movie studios when the sets are torn down. The materials are sorted by type, then sold or donated to businesses and organizations throughout California and Mexico. (That’s good reuse of Holly-wood.) Another Ken fave was a pioneer e-waste recycler, The Executive Suite in Chico. Owner David K. West was known as the “Circuitboard Witch Doctor” as he did his magic throughout the Sacramento Valley, both salvaging and donating recovered computers and electronic scrap and ultimately winning the 1997 Match of the Year.

Maggie Coulter, also at the current CalMAX helm, remembers working on the only billboard campaign advertising CalMAX along Highway 99 in spring 2001, coinciding with the program’s new URL: www.CalMAX.org. The MAX community remembers Maggie for her unique contributions of articles on sustainability issues, beginning in 2003. (See final insert on sustainable agriculture in this issue.) These articles broadened CalMAX from a reuse forum to one for exploring the bigger ecological picture. Sustainability in housing, textile and carpeting, organics, and the arts were among the topics Maggie presented. In March 2004, she began a listserv to notify participants twice a month about new listings.

Chris Kinsella recalls that she came up with the concept of KidMAX when she was pregnant—a very positive reuse of abundant hormones. She’s not only the mom of KidMAX but of two darling daughters.

Jerry Henderson says, “Something that has pleased me a great deal is the number of mini-exchanges that have started and that are, for the most part, supported in some way by CalMAX.” Furthermore, in looking at the names of the exchanges, Jerry was gratified to see how many incorporated an X into their names. “When I started IMEX, I went to a marketing professional to get help with a name. She told me that X was a powerful letter and helped me come up with the name.”

Even though the “Cradle to Grave” match was my own favorite among all the CalMAX stories, who could forget: The Motherplucker Feather Company that recycles fallen bird feathers into stylish boas or other costume trimmings—or cat toys to taunt your playful tabby; Women Walking Tall, 8-foot performers on stilts, who used CalMAX to find costume fabrics; or some of the materials of matches that sounded pretty strange until someone gave you a clue about you could do with them, like horse manure, olive pits, or bowling pins.

What I loved most was writing a monthly column in the publication and the connection I felt to the CalMAX readers. Because we ran my photo in the early catalogs, people would come up to me at conferences and places where we promoted CalMAX and talk to me like we were old friends. At first, when I didn’t recognize many of these individuals, I thought my mind was going … but then I realized it was because they felt they knew me from the column. That’s when I first fully realized the power of this publication and how CalMAX and its participants had created a community all our own.

Last but not least of my magic moments: the addition of new cover art in 1995—the back cartoon showing the circle of people exchanging items across the globe—as well as the classified ads backdrop and new slogan, “The CalMAX Classifieds, The Waste-Not Want-Ads for the California Workplace.” In its earliest stages, there was a big learning curve to introduce Californians to the materials exchange concept, then new to them. This was a major step toward helping everyone get the picture—literally.

The Circle of MAX. Now picture this: when you have a catalyst—something that sparks something else—and you have mutuality, the possibilities are limitless because we have tapped into the positive chain reaction of human creativity. Here’s to CalMAX in its exclusive, new modern form. For those who have resisted or have been unable to join the global networking party, we hope this paper goodbye sparks you to say hello to the Net at your local library—or even to tap CalMAX for a used computer.

If you’re already at home in the land of bits, bytes, and everything happening right now, thanks for helping launch the next phase of the cyberMAX adventure. Every ending contains a new beginning. You can always count on CalMAX to change with the times, contribute to the Board’s Zero Waste California strategy, and to be an upbeat source of environmental stewardship, as well as a barometer of human relationships.

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Last updated: August 01, 2008