Project Description
UC Berkeley used their Reuse Assistance Grant funds to establish a
materials exchange on campus that was
operated by paid student interns. UC Berkeley already had a system to deal with large
furniture and inventoried items, but a system to deal with smaller equipment,
office supplies, and other reusables did not exist. The materials exchange provided an opportunity to promote reuse. In addition to diverted tonnages
and deferred disposal fees, this program promoted the ethic of reuse and
conservation within the campus student and staff population of over 40,000
people.
The steps required to accomplish their project are as follows:
Task 1: Hiring Two to Five Students to Assist in Staffing and Developing
the Program. (5/1/01 to 6/1/01)
Lisa Bauer hired three students in June 2001—Rhoda Chang, Alexis Petru, and Garth
Schultz. Ms. Petru handles outreach and administration, and Mr. Schultz is
in charge of site upkeep and the bike trailer. Ms. Chang was also hired to fulfill
staffing and site upkeep responsibilities. Two additional employees, Dominique Nisperos and Tobias Wait, will be hired
in October 2001 to help with staffing duties and bike trailer pick-ups,
respectively. Task 1 is 100 percent complete.
Task 2: Clean and Set Up Space for Materials Exchange. (6/1/01 to
7/16/01)
Employees washed and painted the shop, putting up donated shelves.
Electricity was donated by the University, and everything the employees
installed was reclaimed: a stereo, lights, a computer, and a fan. Employees also
coordinated policies with building management. Task 2 is 100 percent complete.
Task 2.1: Maintenance and Supplies for Site. (7/1/01 to 5/1/03)
Employees purchased a banner, a padlock, paint supplies, and bolts and
fasteners for the shop. They also completed final organization and cleaning of
the shop. Task 2.1 is 100 percent complete.
Task 3: Develop Program and Write Copy for Outreach Program. (7/1/01 to
8/31/01)
Employees designed a Web site, began to write copy for outreach, and
began developing policies. Task 3 is 50 percent complete. It is anticipated that finalized policies will be
available no later than February 2002.
Task 4.1.1: Baseline Staffing Students at Regular Hours of the Materials
Exchange. (8/27/01 to 5/1/03)
This academic semester, the Re-USE shop is open to the public for
pick-ups and drop-offs Monday through Friday. The six hours budgeted to this
task item go towards these ten hours of staffing. During their two-hour shifts at the shop, employees record pick-ups and
drop-offs into a computer database. In addition to serving and helping
customers, they sweep and tidy the shop. The Re-USE shop began collecting donations on July 23, 2001. They opened the
shop for both receiving and distribution on August 27, 2001. Task 4.1.1 is
ongoing.
Task 4.1.2: Extra Staffing Students at Regular Hours of the Materials
Exchange, Including Extended Hours and Special Projects and Services. (9/10/01
to 5/1/03)
Four of these ten hours contribute to the operational hours of the
Re-USE shop. The rest is allotted to other services and program, including their
new bike trailer, pick-up route on campus. Starting in mid-October, an employee
will ride the bike and bike trailer through campus Tuesdays and Thursdays after
11:00 a.m., picking up boxes of donations from six major campus buildings.
Additionally, they use this money when they make special appointments with
community members to pick up or drop off items outside of Re-USE's regular
hours. They also use money from this category when they spend extra time
cleaning the site or training new employees. Task 4.1.2 is ongoing.
Task 4.2: Semimonthly Meetings. (6/11/01 to 5/1/03)
All employees meet every two weeks to coordinate projects, exchange
ideas and information, and discuss and specify policy or administration issues. Task 4.2 is ongoing.
Task 5.1: Design Advertising Materials. (6/1/01 to 9/1/01)
An employee designed an advertisement to be placed in campus buses
(placement costs were in-kind, but the University covered the printing cost).
She made two versions of a quarter-sheet handbill to be handed out during
Calapalooza, Reader/Notebook Drive, and Re-Use On Campus. She also created a
flyer to be mailed to all campus career staff and faculty. Task 5.1 is ongoing.
Task 5.2: Print Advertising Materials. (6/1/01 to 9/1/01)
This task covered the cost of printing handbills (see Task 5.1). Task 5.2 is ongoing.
Task 6.1: Send out Campus Mailings Promoting the Materials Exchange to
Campus Employees. (8/1/01 to 9/1/01) , (1/1/02 to 2/1/02), (8/1/02 to 9/1/02),
and (1/1/03 to 2/1/03)
Flyers were mailed to about 1,100 career faculty and staff in early
September. Task 6.1 is 25 percent complete. A new mailing will go out each of the next three
semesters.
Task 6.2: Send out Campus Mailings Promoting the Materials Exchange to
Students. (8/15/01 to 9/15/01), (1/1/02 to 2/1/02), (8/15/02 to 9/15/02), and
(1/1/03 to 2/1/03)
Re-USE employees are currently reviewing this task. They feel that
sending flyers to every student's Berkeley address may not be the most effective
form of outreach. Other alternatives include mailings to just dorm and co-op
students, as well as project days where they teach the campus community how to
incorporate the ethic of reuse into their daily lives (see task 12.1). They will
send out a revised budget within the next two months. Task 6.2 has not yet been started. Even if they do not change this task, they will
begin working on this task next semester.
Task 7.1: Participate in Calapalooza and Recycling Awareness Week
Activities, 2001. (8/15/01 to 9/30/01)
Two employees staffed a booth at Calapalooza, UC Berkeley's freshman
orientation fair on August 23, 2001. They gave out handbills to promote Re-USE;
to initiate their thinking towards reuse, they gave out reclaimed notebooks,
binders, phones, and hangers. The event was successful; many students who come
to Re-USE say they heard about Re-USE through Calapalooza.
To participate in Cal's first annual Recycling Awareness Week (the second
week of September), Re-USE had a grand opening, which members of the CIWMB
attended. Initially, the event was planned for September 11, 2001, but was
postponed due to the day's tragic events. A week later, on September 18, 2001,
several students and staff stopped by for refreshments and free items. Task 7.1 is 100 percent complete.
Task 7.2: Participate in Calapalooza and Recycling Awareness Week
Activities, 2002. (8/15/02 to 9/30/02)
Re-USE will have a booth at Calapalooza in August 2002 and be
involved in Recycling Awareness Week in 2002. Task 7.2 has not yet been started but is anticipated to be completed by October 2002.
Task 8: Design Ad for the Daily Californian Newspaper. (8/1/01 to
8/15/01)
An employee created an ad for the campus community's independent
student newspaper. Task 8 is ongoing.
Task 9: Purchase Ad Space for the Daily Californian Newspaper. (8/15/01 to
9/30/01) and (8/15/02 to 9/30/02)
The Re-USE ad ran for two days: September 6, 2001 and September 7,
2001. Serving to attract students and staff to pick up items, the ad proved
successful; many of Re-USE's visitors said they had seen the ad. Task 9 is ongoing. They will place at least one other ad by December 2001,
promoting their end-of-the-semester collection of readers from students and of
office supplies from campus office clean-outs.
Task 10: Develop Database of Interested Individuals. (8/30/01 to
10/30/01)
Re-USE forms ask its visitors if they desire to be added to their
e-mail contact list, which is updated every week. As of September 30, 2001,
their e-mail list has nearly 100 contacts. Members receive information regarding special events such as the Grand
Opening or project days (the first of which will be held on October 30, 2001).
They learn of employment and volunteer opportunities for Re-USE; they also plan
to advertise special items when they receive them. Task 10 is ongoing.
Task 11: Conduct Follow-Up Calls to Interested Individuals.
(9/15/01 to 11/15/01)
As of September 30, 2001, they were uncertain as to the best way to
carry out this task. One of their employees recently drafted a survey, which
they decided to e-mail out to members on the contact list. The survey will help
them gauge how important the campus community things their service is, how they
can make the service more convenient for members, and what kind of items they
need. Task 11 will begin in early November 2001 and will be ongoing.
Task 12.1: Coordinate Creative Reuse Project. (10/15/01 to 11/30/01) and
(10/15/02 to 11/30/02)
As more effort than they expected was necessary for general advertising
of Re-USE, they have decided not to rush through a creative reuse contest this
semester. They plan to have a Creative Reuse Project Day on October 30, 2001,
where they will teach students and staff to make notebooks from reused
materials. This will serve as a pilot and help them figure out how to coordinate
a successful Creative Reuse Contest next semester. Task 12.1 has not yet been started. They plan to have their first contest in Spring 2002.
Task 12.2: Prize for Participants in Creative Reuse Project. (11/30/01)
and (11/30/02)
See above.
Task 13: E-mail and Flyer Promotion of the Program. (6/1/01 to
5/1/03)
Their initial distribution of outreach materials have come under
other tasks such as Calapalooza, Re-USE On Campus, etc. As they develop more
project days and other services that need advertising, they will utilize this
funding. Task 13 has not yet been started. They plan to start this task at the end of October
2001;
it will be ongoing.
Task 14: Generation of the Quarterly Report. (10/8/01 to 11/1/01), (4/1/02
to 5/1/02), (10/8/02 to 11/1/02), and (4/1/03 to 5/1/03)
With the completion of this first report,
Task 14 is 25 percent complete.
Task 15: Buy Scale to Weigh Material Collected. (7/20/01 to 8/20/01)
The scale was donated by a community member in August 2001. Since
this money was not utilized, it will go towards other maintenance items needed
for the Re-USE shop (to be in revised budget). Task 15 is 100 percent complete.
Task 16: Buy Bike Trailer to Collect Materials. (7/13/01 to 7/30/01)
They ordered and received a bike trailer in September 2001. With a
bike donated by a community member, they are trying out a pick-up route on
campus (see Task 4.1.2). If this pilot pick-up route proves successful, they
will consider expanding this service campus-wide. Task 16 is 100 percent complete.
Task 17.1: Planning for Reader/Notebook Drive. (8/20/01 to 8/24/01),
(1/15/02 to 1/20/02), (8/20/02 to 8/24/02), and (1/15/03 to 1/20/03)
They planned for this task during semimonthly staff meetings. They
will either put the money towards planning for next semester's Reader/Notebook,
or they will put it towards staffing the event itself (to be in revised budget).
Task 17.2: Staffing for Reader/Notebook Drive. (8/27/01 to 8/31/01),
(1/21/02 to 1/28/02), (8/27/02 to 8/31/02), and (1/21/03 to 1/28/03)
To promote the opening of Re-USE, an employee tabled on Sproul Plaza
(the main thoroughfare on campus), handing out readers and other school supplies
they had collected. They had intended to staff the event with two people. However, due to the
different schedules of their student employees, they could only coordinate one
student to work the event. They will use those extra hours to do Reader/Notebook
next semester on campus, even though they had only planned on having the event
the first semester of each school year. Task 17.2 is 25 percent complete.
Task 18.1: Planning for Re-USE On Campus. (8/15/01 to 5/1/03)
Like Reader/Notebook, they plan for this task during semimonthly
staff meetings. They will either put the money towards planning for other
Re-USE's OC, or they will put it towards staffing the event by itself (to be in
revised budget).
Task 18.2: Staffing for Re-USE On Campus. (9/1/01 to 5/1/03)
This task involves Re-USE tabling on Sproul Plaza with a selection of
their best items for distribution as a way to publicize their program and
distribute materials. Task 18.2 has not yet been started. The first Re-USE On Campus will take place on
October 9, 2001. They plan on doing another Re-USE On Campus in November 2001 and more in
the coming semester.
Task 19: Develop Procedures and Policies Manual. (9/3/01 to 12/1/01)
Once Re-USE's policies have been finalized next semester (see Task
3), they can work on putting them in manual form. Task 19 has not yet been started but is expected to be completed by February 2002.
*Permission was obtained from grant recipient to publish project profile.
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