Winter/Spring
2000
In This Issue:
- Students Solve the Recycler’s
Riddle at Rancho Cucamonga Environmental Center
- Oil Recycling Campaign: Off-Road,
On-Message
- Earth’s 911 Provides Evaluation
Data
- Branch Reorganizes
- Marin County Program Meets the
Challenge
- Fremont High School Auto Shops
Tune Up
- Fleets Convert to Re-refined
Oil in Ventura County
- Oil Recycling Kicks Off at LA
Coliseum
- Statewide HHW Conference, May
17-19
- CIWMB Calendar
______________________________________________________________
Students Solve the Recycler’s
Riddle at Rancho Cucamonga Environmental Center
At the City of Rancho Cucamonga Environmental
Learning Center, young people learn about the three R’s through
a series of interactive workstations geared toward elementary school
children.
Coordinated by the City’s Public Information
and Education program, the Center uses a Recycler’s Workbook
to guide students through a maze of games and displays looking for
clues to ultimately solve the Recycler’s Riddle.
Students begin the tour with the Resource
Recognition Game, in which players are given a series of natural
resources to match with an end product. Once all the resources are
assigned to the correct products, the students are given a “clue'
to the Recycler’s Riddle.
The Center’s computer station includes
a game involving a virtual recycling truck that picks up recyclables
on its way to the transfer station. At each stop, students are asked
a question about the three R’s. A correct answer allows the
truck to advance forward to the next stop, ultimately arriving at
the transfer station.
The computer station also includes an activity
that asks students to identify how long certain materials take to
decompose. Through a series of multiple choice questions, they determine
the number of days, weeks, and years it takes for an item to break
down.
Another feature of the Center is a special
recycling truck driven by R.C. Coyote, the City’s mascot. This
truck is equipped with a computer that uses bar codes to provide
information about a product’s content and its potential to
be recycled. A variety of products are on display that students
can analyze using the truck’s bar code scanner.
All displays are in both English and Spanish.
Recycled-content products and reused materials were used in constructing
the Center. For example, a restaurant table was utilized as a computer
stand and old computer circuit boards were converted into clipboards.
For more information about the Center, call
Bob Zetterberg, the City’s Integrated Waste/NPDES Coordinator,
at (909) 477-2740 x2320.
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Oil Recycling Campaign:
Off-Road, On-Message
To increase off-road enthusiasts’ participation
in used oil recycling programs, the CIWMB has teamed up with the
California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) to conduct a
statewide outreach campaign. DPR publications and outreach events
are being utilized to provide off-highway vehicle (OHV) drivers
information about oil recycling opportunities.
In addition, the campaign is encouraging
local agencies to partner with operators of State Vehicular Recreation
Areas and other parks that permit off-roading. During the month
of April, many of these parks are working with off-roading clubs
and associations to coordinate local cleanups in honor of Earth
Day. Such events provide local agencies with a unique opportunity
to work with and conduct outreach to the local off-road community.
For more information about up-coming events
involving OHV drivers, call Becky Williams with the CIWMB at (916)
255-2647 or e-mail rwilliams@ciwmb.ca.gov.
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Earth’s 911 Provides
Evaluation Data
Earth’s 911 Hotline (1-800-CLEANUP)
provides a vital resource for increasing the effectiveness of local
used oil recycling and household hazardous waste outreach programs.
The Hotline’s tracking system monitors
the geographic distribution of callers, the type of information
accessed by users, and the frequency of calls on each day of the
week. This caller response data is easily reported to an agency;
and, along with demographic statistics, can be analyzed to assist
local agencies with measuring the effectiveness of their outreach
efforts.
One example of a community that has successfully
utilized Earth 911’s services is San Mateo County. Over the
past few years, the local used oil recycling program has nearly
tripled the amount of oil recycled at the County’s collection
centers. During this time, County staff have worked closely with
the Hotline to monitor call responses and evaluate outreach efforts.
For more details about this successful partnership,
visit the Earth 911’s California program web page at
http://www.1800cleanup.org.
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Branch Reorganizes
The CIWMB’s Used Oil / HHW Branch has
recently reorganized to better distribute grant workloads and more
effectively utilize staff expertise. An updated organizational chart
was distributed to grantees in January, 2000. To request an additional
copy, call Wendy Roberson at (916) 255-2891 or view staff assignments
at http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/HHW/Contacts.htm.
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Marin County Program Meets
the Challenge
An innovative Marin County program to encourage
protection of area creeks was selected as a winner of the coveted
1999 Challenge Award sponsored by the California State Association
of Counties (CSAC).
The Marin County Stormwater Pollution Prevention
Program’s (MCSTOPPP) “Protecting Our Local Creeks –
Getting Involved' school program was one of only 12 programs statewide
to receive this award.
Reviewing nearly 200 entries, a panel of
distinguished judges with expertise in county government selected
the winning entries based on their innovation, creativity, resourcefulness,
effectiveness, collaboration, cost savings and ability to be duplicated
in other counties.
The Marin County program focuses on protecting
local creeks by training teachers to use local water-ways as outdoor
classrooms while utilizing curriculum that coincides with State
mandates. Microscopes, books, videos, and stream inventory kits
are made available through a partnership with the Marin Conservation
Corps. Mini-grants are also offered to assist teachers with purchasing
other materials and supplies.
Through this program, elementary school
students are also encouraged to join the Kids’ Animal Protection
Squad (KAPS) geared toward children interested in protecting Marin’s
waterfowl and other wildlife.
For more information, call Gina Purin with
MCSTOPPP at (415) 499-3202. For details about the Challenge Awards
program, call CSAC at (916) 327-7500.
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Fremont High School Auto
Shops Tune Up
Aunique partnership between the City of
Fremont’s Environmental Services Division (ESD) and four local
high school auto shops is educating future do-it-yourselfers and
mechanics about the importance of recycling used oil.
As part of the City’s award winning
High School Program, students learn about the hazards of improperly
disposing oil, techniques for properly recycling used oil, the importance
of maintaining a well-running vehicle, and the process of re-refining
used oil.
Each auto shop was provided with the proper
equipment for handling used oil, including double-walled containment
tanks, oil filter crushers, drainer containers, and spill response
kits. To assist each shop with meeting OSHA and EPA requirements,
ESD staff conduct periodic inspections.
In 1999, Cal/EPA selected this program as
“The Best New Program of 1998.' The award was presented at
the 1999 Statewide Household Hazardous Waste Conference in Tahoe
City, CA.
For more information about the program,
call Roopal Mayor at (408) 270-9197 or email roopal@best.com.
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Fleets Convert to Re-refined
Oil in Ventura County
In 1998, the County of Ventura Solid Waste
Management Department in partnership with the Re-Refined Oil Marketing
Association (RROMA) conducted a region-wide campaign to convert
local fleets to re-refined oil.
Teams of City and County staff and re-refined
oil manufacturers visited fleet managers and business owners to
discuss the benefits of re-refined oil. During these meetings, fleet
managers were provided with free test kits to assist them with comparing
the performance of re-refined oil and oil made from virgin base
stock. Fleet managers were also offered incentives for switching
to re-refined oil (first 55 gallons free) and on-going technical
assistance.
As a result of initial outreach efforts,
over 24 Ventura County businesses converted their fleets to re-refined
oil. In addition, three locally-based re-refined oil distributors
agreed to continue providing the “first gallons free' incentive
and offer free technical support beyond the duration of the official
campaign. Promotional materials developed for the program (such
as a video narrated by Larry Hagman) were also used to educate auto
service center technicians and the general public about the benefits
of re-refined oil.
For more information, call David Goldstein
with Ventura County at (805) 648-9242 or email David.Goldstein@mail.co.ventura.ca.us.
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Oil Recycling Kicks Off
at LA Coliseum
The City of Los Angeles is promoting used
oil recycling to sports enthusiasts through a highly visible campaign
at the Los Angeles Coliseum and Sports Arena. Since last December,
fifty signs that encourage attendees to call 1-800 CLEANUP for used
oil recycling information were placed throughout the Coliseum and
Arena. These signs, which target both English and Spanish speakers,
will remain up for at least a year.
In addition, the electronic message board facing
the nearby freeway flashes used oil recycling information to passing
motorists. The board’s recycling message is expected to reach
the most people during commute hours.
For more information, call Marcel Zuniga with
the City of Los Angeles at (213) 473-8156.
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Statewide HHW Conference,
May 17-19
The Fifth Annual Statewide Household Hazardous
Waste Conference will be held on May 17-19, 2000 at UCLA’s
Lake Arrowhead Conference Center in San Bernardino County, CA. Conference
details and registration forms will be distributed in early April.
Information will also be available at the CIWMB web site at
http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/HHW.
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CIWMB Calendar
March 21 CIWMB, U.S.EPA and Region IX, Western
Investment Forum,
Irvine Marriott. Contact: Linda Christopher, (415) 561-6530 x 15
March 22 Southern Household Hazardous Waste
Information Exchange
Santa Barbara, Contact: Everett King, (805) 882-3618
March 27-30 SWANA Annual Landfill Gas Symposium,
La Jolla.
Contact: Scott Settar, (301) 585-2898 x 257
April 7 CIWMB Environmental Education Conference,
San Bernardino.
Contact: Joanne Vorhies, (916) 255-2362
May 10 State Agency Buy Recycled Campaign,
Recycled Product Trade Show,
Sacramento Convention Center, Sacramento.
Contact: Tavia Pagan, (916) 255-2448
May 17-19 5th Annual Statewide Household
Hazardous Waste and Used Oil Conference
UCLA Conference Center, Lake Arrowhead, CA.
Info: http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/HHW
July 23-26 California Resource Recovery
Association Annual Conference,
Sacramento Convention Center, Sacramento.
Contact: Georgia Fox-Watters, (916) 441-2772
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