Imagine the weight of 236 one-ton pickup trucks, and one can begin to understand the amount of material recycled last year by Sonoma State University's Recycling Program, which was recently awarded a $93,860 grant by the State Department of Conservation's Division of Recycling. A $6 million grant was distributed amongst 27 organizations, with SSU's program being awarded the fourth largest sum of money. This is the second grant received by the program, which was started at SSU in 1980 and currently funds four student assistants and a recycling coordinator.
The proposal for the grant was written by Kae Ono and Allison Busch-Lovejoy, with the help of Katie Pierce of the Office of Sponsored Programs and Paul Tapley, the Recycling Program's coordinator. Ono and Busch-Lovejoy are both students at SSU. Last year the program recycled 236 tons (472,695 lbs.) of material, an 18.57% increase from the 1996-97 year, yielding $12,751.24, part of which funded the program. The materials the program recycles range from cardboard to phone books, from glass to aluminum, with paper and ledger from the office constituting just under half of the total sum recycled last year.
Half of the money from the proposal will be used to purchase 145 new outdoor collection containers, with portions of the other half going toward the purchase of a tipper to help lift and load containers. Old containers were nothing more than old pickle barrels, creating a health hazard for people because bees would often be attracted to and collect around the barrels. With a tipper, workers will be at less risk as a machine performs the tasks of lifting and loading the heavy containers. The grant also funds promotional items for the program as well as personnel, operating, and administrative expenses.
"This grant will result in a faster and cleaner operation, with less hazard to the public and the program workers," said Dennis Harris, Senior Director for Planning and Analysis in Administration and Finance.
For more information, contact Dennis Harris at (707) 664-2165.
