Reuse Assistance Grant Progress Report

City of San Jose Reuse Assistance Grant Project
(Part 4: April 1, 2003 to September 1, 2003)

Project Description

The City of San Jose used their grant funds to assist the nonprofit Resource Area for Teachers (RAFT) with expanding their materials reuse activities by increasing the number of businesses that are aware of and utilize RAFT's reuse services. The project increased the volume and types of items donated to RAFT by businesses and the number of school districts, teachers, and students utilizing and benefiting from RAFT's services.

The steps required to accomplish their project are as follows:

Task 1: Project Administration

Task 1.1: Maintain List of Reusable Materials. (5/02 to 5/04)
To better target materials that RAFT needs, Environmental Planning Consultants (EPC) and RAFT educational staff generated a list of the top 20 materials of which RAFT makes use. This list will be updated as needs change.

When RAFT educational staff told EPC that they were looking for specific materials, those materials were targeted from local businesses. One example is scrap pieces of metal window screen, which were obtained to build butterfly houses. RAFT drivers carry lists of materials that are being sought by teachers.

To make it easier for potential donors to understand the types of computer equipment that RAFT will accept, a list of acceptable types of computer and related equipment was generated. Task 1.1 is 100 percent complete and ongoing.

Task 1.2: Maintain List of Corporate Donors. (5/02 to 5/04)
To facilitate the communication with RAFT staff, a new online donor form was developed. Task 1.2 is 100 percent complete and ongoing.

Task 2: Business Outreach

Task 2.1: City Promotion of RAFT Activities. (5/02 to 5/04)
EPC staff attended a City of San Jose garbage haulers meeting to explain their outreach efforts for RAFT. Hauler customer service representatives said they would alert specific businesses of the opportunity to donate to RAFT.

City staff scheduled their hauler's meeting at the RAFT facility itself. Haulers toured the warehouse and discovered first hand the variety of material of which RAFT makes use.

A Valentine's Day singles' event, "The Sweetheart Sort," was held in cooperation with the Volunteer Exchange and attracted over 100 people. Many in attendance were employees from local businesses who were able to see first hand the types of materials that RAFT uses.

RAFT staff are working with an IBM employee to bring the facilities managers from Hitachi (which purchased a division of IBM) to RAFT. This will assure that donations will continue from the former IBM facility.

Open houses and individual tours of the RAFT facility will continue to be conducted on an as-needed basis. For new donors, seeing how the RAFT facility operates and how materials are used, has been particularly helpful.

An Open House was held on April 24, 2003. It was attended by the media, government dignitaries, donors, and teachers.

Working with local businesses, a "Back to School" drive encourages the donation of backpacks and related school supplies for distribution by organizations throughout the Bay Area. Task 2.1 is 100 percent complete and ongoing.

Task 2.2: Develop Specific Collateral Materials. (5/02 to 8/02)
Nine thousand brochures for business donors were printed. Cost for printing four color tri-fold brochures: $2,475.

An article was written for a local landscaper newsletter to let them know RAFT will accept end cuts from PVC pipe.

A press release, describing two San Jose businesses that are new donors to RAFT, was submitted to local newspapers in early February 2003. Each company's donations were highlighted along with quotes from management describing how positive they felt about donating materials to RAFT. This press release was picked up by a columnist in the San Jose Mercury News.

A press release about RAFT's ability to make use of discarded business cards was submitted to the local Chamber of Commerce. This information will be included in the Chamber's July 2003 newsletter in the "Business Beat" column. Task 2.2 is 100 percent complete and ongoing.

Task 2.3: Open Houses. (Quarterly)
Personal tours of the RAFT facility were conducted by RAFT or EPC staff, allowing businesses to see first hand how RAFT operates and the types of materials of which they are able to make use. A major donor party was attended by about 120 business guests.

Tours of RAFT's facility continue. This past quarter a tour for employees of AMD, Lockheed, Cisco, Agilent, and others was given. Employees were encouraged to make sure that their company is participating in RAFT's programs.

When visiting local businesses, EPC encouraged them to drop in and tour RAFT's warehouse informally during normal hours of operation. Task 2.3 is 100 percent complete and ongoing.

Task 3: Current Donors

Task 3.1: Waste Assessment Training. (6/02 to 8/02)
Due to a turnover in the truck drivers at RAFT, waste assessment training was postponed to allow the drivers to adjust to their new positions. Drivers have now completed their 90-day probationary period at RAFT and moved to permanent status.

Two training sessions were conducted with the RAFT drivers to familiarize them with how a waste assessment is done.

A list of the types of items drivers would expect to find at particular types of businesses was generated to assist them in probing businesses for possible donations of new materials for RAFT.

Drivers were given sample language that EPC has found effective in approaching businesses to ask for donations. Task 3.1 is 100 percent complete.

Task 3.2: Conduct Waste Assessments. (8/02 to 5/04)
RAFT personnel continue to call and visit former and current donors to provide broader understanding of the myriad of items RAFT can take.

RAFT drivers will begin to apply the skills that they learned from their meetings with EPC to their day-to-day dealings with businesses.

In addition, EPC staff will ride along with the RAFT drivers to provide additional training and support to drivers ion securing materials.

EPC will continue to alert businesses they work with about RAFT's ability to reuse materials that a business may be discarding. Task 3.2 is 100 percent complete.

Task 3.3: Collect and Distribute Materials. (8/02 to 5/04)
RAFT continues to collect and distribute the materials as a result of the waste assessments. Task 3.3 is 100 percent complete and ongoing.

Task 4: New Donors

Task 4.1: Waste Assessment Training. (6/02 to 8/02)
Drivers have completed their probationary status and are now ready for the waste assessment training.

In order to help drivers better communicate with potential new donors about the variety of materials that RAFT accepts, drivers will carry a sample bag as a visual aid.

Drivers will encourage new donors to learn more about RAFT, either through visiting their Web site or visiting RAFT's warehouse. Task 4.1 is 100 percent complete.

Task 4.2: Conduct Waste Assessments. (8/02 to 5/04)
Informal waste assessments continue to be conducted for all new donors to help them to identify materials that RAFT can use. EPC conducts visual assessments of discarded waste with business staff present, so they will better understand what is useful to RAFT.

EPC continues to work to maintain positive relationships with newly established RAFT donors with follow-up visits and e-mails, as well as communicating with RAFT staff to ensure that a business's needs and concerns are met.

Materials that EPC is unsure that RAFT can use are evaluated for their usability by the RAFT's educational staff. Some materials are accepted on a provisional basis to see if they are indeed materials that teachers can use. RAFT educational staff work both in-house and with outside industrial design firms to come up with creative and novel ways of using the many unusual materials that RAFT receives.

As part of EPC's in-kind donation to the RAFT project, they have responded to several business requests for assistance in recycling materials that RAFT is unable to accept. EPC has assisted RAFT donors in finding ways to divert sawdust, pallets, and outdated computer monitors and has worked with businesses outside of San Jose not covered by the CIWMB grant.

A total of 121 San Jose businesses were contacted from January 1, 2003 through March 31, 2003, with 18 was assessments completed and 11 donations obtained.

Contacts with smaller businesses, where it is easier to reach decision-making personnel, have proven to be the most fruitful.

Highlights of materials received in this quarter include:

• Pallet loads of large 1/4" thick plastic sheets that a local polymer company was eager to dispose of.
• Roll ends of photographic printing paper were received from an advertising agency.
• A local photography shop donated plastic film canisters.
• A provider of home health care donated miscellaneous medical equipment.

A total of 240 businesses were contacted in this quarter. Waste assessments were conducted at ten businesses, and donations were obtained from 13 businesses.

As a result of the EPC training, RAFT front desk staff will provide more information to new donors about the wide variety of materials that RAFT takes. In addition, they will inquire about the type of business, putting this information on the driver's route sheet. The drivers will then use this information to assist in securing donations of new materials for RAFT. Task 4.2 is 100 percent complete.

Task 4.3: Collect and Distribute Materials. (8/02 to 5/04)
EPC continues to approach businesses in San Jose seeking donations of materials for RAFT. Businesses located in areas near RAFT were targeted specifically to help reduce the cost of collection. Specific types of businesses were targeted, as well. For example, landscapers were targeted for pieces of PVC pipe.

Donations of usable items have also come from individual small businesses that generate just one waste that RAFT can use. A company that makes vertical wooden blinds is donating their end cuts to RAFT. Other new business donors have included larger companies that are downsizing and have substantial amount of various materials including plastic silicon wafer storage boxes, office supplies and pallet loads of clean room paper.

RAFT's education staff appealed to EPC to locate old business cards, which are an ideal size and weight to use for bases of many small science objects that RAFT makes. Since business cards are an endemic part of the business world, EPC now alerts businesses contacted of just how valuable these cards are to RAFT.

Education staff at RAFT asked EPC to find materials that were in high demand, including CD jewel cases and telephone wire. EPC worked to locate businesses that could supply the desired materials.

Local managers of national chain stores were reluctant to donated materials without corporate approval. EPC drafted several letters to corporate offices to facilitate donations from local stores. Task 4.3 is 100 percent complete and ongoing.

Task 5: Teacher Outreach

Their grant application expressed their best estimations of how they would perform the tasks outlined. However, as they implemented their project, they found it to be a better use of these funds to concentrate the efforts of EPC on Donor Outreach activities (Tasks 3 and 4) as the Teacher Outreach program goals (Task 5) were being achieved through other means. With the CIWMB and City of San Jose staff approval, most of the remaining budget was redirected to increased Donor Outreach activities.

Task 5.1: Invitations to Teachers. (8/02 to 5/04)
RAFT has been encouraging teachers to become members and encouraging districts to sign up their teachers for membership.

Since September 2002, RAFT has given $3.50 discount to 1,398 teachers. The remaining funds in this category will be expended at the beginning of the coming school year as the San Jose teachers sign up for RAFT membership for the 2003-2004 school year.

RAFT will continue to broadcast to teachers about their services through e-mail and also through a presence at teacher Conferences. Task 5.1 is ongoing with $3,657 remaining to award to San Jose teachers.

Task 5.2: Develop Specific Collateral Materials. (6/02 to 8/02)
A new brochure for 2003 was prepared for teachers and 9,000 copies made. These are distributed in-house at RAFT throughout the year. No cost to this grant. Task 5.2 is 100 percent complete.

Task 5.3: Open Houses. (Quarterly)
Since January 2003, Open Houses have been offered by RAFT to teachers on Thursday evenings from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

RAFT's Open Houses on Thursday evenings continued through May 2003.

A special Open House, to celebrate the opening of the Green Room at RAFT, was held on April 24, 2003. This Open House included government dignitaries such as Congressman Mike Honda and Mayor Ron Gonzales. Task 5.3 is 100 percent complete.

Task 5.4: Teacher Workshops. (8/02 to 5/04)
RAFT provided 25 Professional Workshops for teachers over the summer months, before July 31, 2002.

RAFT provided 28 Professional Workshops for teachers during the fall months, before December 1, 2002. 

RAFT has provided 21 Professional Workshops for teachers during the winter months of January through March 2003.

RAFT has provided 19 Professional Workshops for teachers during the spring months of April through June 2003. See workshop schedule at www.raft.net. Task 5.4 is 100 percent complete.

Task 5.5: Facility Tours. (8/02 to 5/04)
In the previous quarter, RAFT provided 17 facility tours. RAFT has provided seven facility tours in this period.

Most groups of teachers take formal tours of RAFT at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday mornings, prior to opening. Others come as scheduled during the week. Task 5.5 is 100 percent complete and ongoing.

Work To Be Completed During Next Reporting Period

RAFT and their contractor, EPC, have completed their work under the terms of this grant has have fully utilized all of the grant funds with the exception of $3,657 remaining to provide a $3.50 discount on RAFT membership for San Jose teachers. These funds will be expended as the teachers sign up for their 2003-2004 school year.

Summary

• Businesses respond best to being approached about helping schools. Everyone has a child or knows of a child in a local school, so they can easily relate to making a donation to aid them. Reducing waste was always a message of secondary interest to businesses.
• Businesses were receptive to learning about RAFT. Visual aids, in the form of sample bags of unusual materials that RAFT now takes, helped to get across the variety of materials that RAFT could use, when words could not.
• Getting smaller sized businesses to donate to RAFT often proved easier than their larger counterparts, where getting past the front desk or getting a contact name for follow-up proved difficult.
• Businesses appreciated follow-up contact from EPC and RAFT, which allowed them to express their satisfaction or, in a few instances, concern about their interactions with RAFT.
• EPC was able to connect RAFT with companies that will donate on an ongoing basis. In the past, the majority of donations have been one time only, and usually office supplies.
• RAFT drivers benefited from the knowledge that EPC staff gained in their outreach on RAFT's behalf. Drivers have now been trained both in how to approach current donors about expanding the types of materials that they donated, and in how to approach new donors.
• EPC helped to educate RAFT staff that expanded outreach can help to increase the variety and type of donations available for teachers.
• The number of teacher members of RAFT has increased from 4,000 to 5,650 teachers during the course of this grant.
• A brochure specifically targeting businesses was developed. Specific collateral material was developed for teachers, as well.

Conclusion

With funds provided by the CIWMB and the City of San Jose, RAFT, with the assistance of their contractor, EPC, was successful in reducing waste disposed of by San Jose businesses, while continuing their mission to provide low cost educational materials for local teachers. They hope to gain additional funding to do more outreach.

EPC will continue its involvement with RAFT informally, alerting businesses it works with of the important and necessary role RAFT plays in their community, both in helping local schools and in reducing waste from local businesses.

*Permission was obtained from grant recipient to publish project profile.

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Last updated: June 25, 2008