A state grant has made it possible for a large Scotts Valley housing community to recycle more and spend less on its discards in the process.
In the past year, nonprofit environmental consultant Ecology Action partnered with the management of Hidden Oaks Condominiums and the city of Scotts Valley to ramp up recycling efforts for paper, plastic, glass and cans for the 186 housing units in the community.
Ecology Action built several enclosures with large green recycling containers and went door to door to educate people about recycling practices, while giving each a plastic recycling can that would fit in their home.
“We had some recycling capability,” said David Guzman of Remi Estate Management, which manages Hidden Oaks. “They came in and analyzed the current system. Now, people walk the least amount of steps to recycle.”
Some residents had been required to carry recyclables long distances across the development to reach the older containers, which could not hold bulky items, such as cardboard boxes.
The cost savings have been immediate. Before, the community had GreenWaste Recovery pick up garbage and recyclables three days each week. Now, GreenWaste trucks visit only twice a week, which will amount to $16,000 a year in savings, Guzman said.
Scott Hamby, Scotts Valley’s wastewater and environmental program manager, called the Hidden Oaks effort a “model project” because of the money it has saved.
“They provided resources the city doesn’t have,” Hamby said. “That’s what I’m trying to get across to businesses in town. Garbage pickup is very expensive.”
For every cubic yard of garbage a company or community pays to have carted away, GreenWaste offers to pick up two cubic yards of recyclables for no charge, so Hamby recommends recycling as both a cost-saving step and an environmentally sound move.
“The city of Scotts Valley has been a great collaborator,” said Angela Rocchio, of Ecology Action.
In the course of the day, Hidden Oaks residents can be seen walking to the collection areas with recycling cans in hand.
“I think the changes we’ve made have worked out really well,” resident Bill Douglass said. “It’s more convenient for people in the neighborhood, like me.”
Since receiving two CalRecycle grants totaling $4.2 million in 2007 and 2008, Ecology Action has worked on 161 projects all over the area as part of its Monterey Bay Regional Multifamily Recycling Project. In Scotts Valley, the project reached Oak Tree Villa, Emerald Hill Apartments and another small complex in the city.
A major success came when Ecology Action targeted University of California, Santa Cruz, and California State University, Monterey Bay. The group estimates that students and staff on the Santa Cruz campus now recycle 95.6 more tons per year and Monterey Bay an additional 45.3 tons per year.
The grants are winding down, but Ecology Action has online tools to increase recycling efforts on its website.
For information: www.ecoact.org.
