City of Cupertino, CA Cupertino Green, 14 Mar 2011

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From YouTube: GREENBIZ CUPERTINO: Recology: New Cupertino Waste Management and Resource Recovery Services

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GREENBIZ CUPERTINO
Recology: New Cupertino Waste Management and Resource Recovery Services GreenBiz Cupertino is a new pilot program established to both champion and incentivize local Cupertino businesses that support our community by conserving energy and water, minimizing waste generation and preventing pollution. In this fifth installment, John Zirelli of Recology discusses New Cupertino Waste Management and Resource Recovery Services. (14 min.)

A

We've now touched upon: how do we save energy? How do we save water, and now this is actually a really great opportunity to talk a little bit about resource conservation. That always seems like a really general topic to me and a little bit overwhelming I.

A

Think the green business program does a great job, introducing businesses and partners into what is resource conservation, John and Suzanne are a little bit at the higher level, then say: procurement and materials that you may be using in your business, but those all go loop back into a waste stream and they're going to talk to you about how the city and how our partnership with Recology will support your all your conservation activities. So thank you. Thank.

B

You Erin good morning, my name is John cerelli I'm, the general manager with Recology. This is Susie at Morrison she's, our recycling programs, outreach manager and she's. Also, our customer service manager. We're excited 41 days from now. Our new recycling programs will kick in and Cupertino.

B

Our goal is to get to seventy-five percent diversion by 2015 right now we're doing about sixty percent. How we're going to get to the seventy-five percent are the new program, so I'll touch on briefly. Suzanne will talk about its three sectors: it's the commercial business sector, it's the multifamily sector, it's also the residential sector, but we're mainly and talk about the commercial and multi-family. Today, the biggest part of that is organics and food waste.

B

As just talked about the park place ho Cypress hotel park, lake restaurant was one of our pilot programs over the last year and a half we put in some organic composting bins. Also whole foods and Apple were part of the pilot program, and over the last year we recycle or diverted 1,500 tons.

B

Just through these three accounts, mainly food waste and composable, we, as Josh said we went into the park, place restaurant we met with the kitchen crews, the head chef and all the staff and work with them on how the recycle the food waste and composable is part of it is using slim jims, which one of them is right. There we also City cupertino's. One of our partners is basically you know, recycling the organics, which is food waste, which is pretty simple, but it's also compostable products.

B

Your soiled paper out of the restrooms in your kitchens and susannah touch about briefly of what products are recyclable. What's compostable, the other part of our new recycling programs with the commercial businesses and the multi families is single stream recycling right now. The businesses separate their balls in cans in one cart and they're mixed paper and newspaper into another cart, and a lot of the businesses actually have another bin for commercial cardboard starting november.

B

First, we'll transition all the businesses into single stream or basically you'll get one container, either a metal container, one yard of six yards in size or a cart and all your single stream recycling going to that one container that usually increases diversion anywhere from twenty to twenty-five percent.

B

Also, you know part of the new programs which we're excited about it. It's more on the residential side, we'll be doing cooking oil on the residential side, but not on the commercial side. On the multi families. We will provide each unit it's with.

B

Obviously they don't have room for containers inside the unit, but it's called a multi-family tote bag will provide every unit and it's similar to a bag over there and basically put all your recyclables in that and when you go out to your car in the morning, you just dump this into your recycling containers on site that will be single stream recycling. For that I'll give handed over to Suzanne. She can touch on what will consist of the compost food waste containers, which will make a big impact on the program's going forward.

C

Thank you John. First of all, how many people live in cupertino.

C

Okay, all right, so you guys excited about the new program yeah we're going to provide everyone with a pitcher like a countertop pitcher that you can as you're working in the kitchen, your banana peels. Your coffee grinds your egg shells, we're partnering with sustainable living and creating that pitcher, and then you will fill that and take it out to your yard, waste cart.

C

And so that's how you're going to compost your food waste and as butch was talking about the CFL bulbs, we're also going to collect those curbside and along with batteries and cooking oil and for businesses we do have. You know posters, because I think you can talk about it, but people look at the graphics. They need to see a picture so we'll provide those just like that are on the slim jim over there and for businesses.

C

I can come out and do an audit and just see where you're taking your recycling and if you're throwing items away. I can come out with a packet, and you know just walk through your business with you. A lot of you have businesses and you share containers right, like you're. In a complex, so I just need to get touch with the property manager. You can give me a call and we'll come out doing.

A

C

Let's see and what else we also for people who live in cupertino offer environmental days at deanza college, so we do take construction and demolition, reusable furniture. Our goal is to reduce reuse, recycle I. Think that's everyone's goal here. That's why everyone's here, but we've got a new term and it's Recology, so it's reduce, reuse and recolonize.

C

So does that anyone have any questions and I touch on everything.

C

The business program is starting november first, but you can call me now I think we can get started on and see what we need to get to get your business up and going I. Think most businesses are already recycling. I think the most inconvenient thing is separating I, don't know if you all agree with me is separating I'm going to put the paper in this one and I got to put the plastic in this one. So we're going to go single stream on that, so you just makes it easy for you.

C

You can take, you can take this I brought one but yeah.

D

What about the styrofoam? No.

C

We hate styrofoam, don't buy styrofoam, it's bad.

D

I, thank you recently, I discovered that they have this recycling process for these styrofoam cups plates and things like that, and this.

B

D

Was a regard comes in cheney, a go, I.

C

D

Her God and everything and that I did mention to them. We get in touch with you to see how that works, because she was saying- and they showed me products that they made out of these are recycling those. So I can use a good product like floating and all that I think.

C

It's how it's produced that makes it so evil, because its petroleum and and it just can it doesn't break down. And you know we don't have a market for recycling it at this point, but it animals take it. It gets into the the water stream, so yeah.

E

F

E

F

Recycling processes start, you have to start somewhere.

C

You're gonna, not do you think yeah? Yes, but it's it's not.

D

Renewable disposal.

A

Confusing or misleading info products have recycle logo correct.

C

Yeah most items meant the manufacturer will mark recyclable. It doesn't mean that it's recyclable where you live, so you should check with your recycling company if they take it.

D

B

D

B

That we have several containers outside dumpsters, they go in there and we have a special route that goes around and to compose for organics route. Only and then that goes to the composting facility.

D

B

Doing a pilot program now November first we'll have dedicated routes for commercial businesses and single-family homes. On the single-family home side, each Suzanne said each house would get a kitchen top container and that will go into your actually yard waste container that you have at your house right now.

D

B

Yeah for the restaurants, we have separate bins outside either carts or metal bins, and all the food waste and compostable goes into those separate bins and.

D

We have a CD one, yes,.

E

At to the polystyrene question, I would say that we're probably about a year away, tops from from a polystyrene ban, probably countywide. A lot of cities individually have already banned it out right, and I think it's it's coming down the pipeline. So I think it's what we've been encouraging our restaurants to do here in cupertino is to be ahead of the curve and find out ways to avoid it.

E

It's hard because, depending on the type of food, it is and the temperature that people are bringing it home and how what I call saucy it is they. You know the technology is trying to catch up with with the needs. We did have a presentation from an organization based in los altos called green town.

E

Who's been working with some alternative packaging providers to offer a discounted rate to a larger consortium of businesses, and we had a presentation at our last restaurant association meeting about those they're kind of like that they're different variations thereof, but essentially it it has the same functionality almost as styrofoam, but is not using the polystyrene process, which we know is not good.

E

So if anyone, if you are a restaurant or you know, of a restaurant who is interested in the end, they're very open to having cupertino businesses participate in their consortium, so you can take advantage of the discounted prices because that's been one of the biggest challenges for businesses and breaking away from the from polystyrene is cost. The polystyrene is is, is economical but not necessarily good for the environment, so the alternatives now are getting to be almost at a break-even point. So that's good news. Thank.

B

You Kelly I.

F

Just want my waste management company where I live she's, not County, who had their own comp with three years. The kitchen's container and I've noticed during the last couple of years that my garbage is my actual trash. It comes down to one bag, yes, impossible yard waste, waste, recycling, bin yeah and then what you have is trash. Yes, very.

B

Minimal did that that is our goal.

F

B

It does thank you.

B