Los Gatos Weekly-Times Green Valley kicks off pilot program for office recycling By Jeff Kearns After nearly a year of planning and organizing, Green Valley Disposal is ready to kick off its mixed-paper recycling program for nearly 1,500 businesses in Los Gatos and Campbell. The six-month pilot program for collection begins Jan. 1, when Green Valley will start service for any business requesting it. The service is included in normal collection fees, and a wheeled, 96-gallon receptacle is delivered free. Only a handful of local businesses now participate in the program, but Green Valley general manager Phil Couchee says that the first round of mailers recently sent to local businesses have netted more than 300 new participants. Los Gatos and Campbell requested that Green Valley come up with a program early in the year, and the Los Gatos Town Council signed off on the program in November. Businesses requesting the service will be given a blue receptacle. Couchee says the biggest expense for the programs so far has been $90,000 for a new specially modified garbage truck that can pick up three cans at a time. Couchee says Green Valley is one of only a few agencies starting a mixed-paper collection for businesses on a city-wide basis. Reducing business waste is part of an overall goal of reducing waste sent to landfills to 50 percent of 1990 levels, as required by a state law passed in 1989. Los Gatos has already cut its waste levels by 40 percent, and Community Services director Regina Falkner says that getting businesses involved will put a significant dent in the remaining 10 percent. "We've done just about everything that's financially feasible in the residential sector to divert waste from the landfill, so now it's time to focus on the commercial sector," she said. The next step, Falkner said, will be to push debris diversion from building demolitions. Officials will evaluate the pilot program based on costs, tonnage, efficiency, popularity, and cleanliness of the collections. Couchee says paper clips and staples are acceptable, but food waste and other refuse is not. Also, Couchee says cardboard should not be mixed in with paper--commercial cardboard collection is also available along with regular trash service to any business that requests it. The city of Saratoga, which has fewer businesses, has already met its Year 2000 goals for waste diversion, and opted not to participate in the pilot program. Green Valley serves Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Campbell, Saratoga and nearby unincorporated areas. Its Joint Powers Board is made up of one councilmember from each municipality. For more information on the program, or to sign up for service, call Green Valley at 354-2100. [ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, December 16, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.