City to Hold Meeting on New Rules for Recycling Center

When the city's rebuilt, LEED-Platinum Recycling Center opened last April, it offered many amenities and advantages that were lacking in the old agglomeration of dented and rusted bins amid haphazard traffic.

But two problems it didn't solve were aggressive users who seized large quantities of books from the re-use area and people who impropery take materials brought in for the city to recycle. The latter problem represented a loss of income for the city.

Responding to complaints and the income-loss and liability of having patrons salvaging materials from the recycling bins, City officials have held a number of public meetings about how to deal with the problems and drafted a set of new regulations that were approved by the City Council in November.

The new rules aim to curb the problems while also allowing for some items to be salvaged from the recycling stream with staff permission for limited purposes, such as kids' art projects, for example.

The city will host a community meeting at the Recycling Center, at 7501 Schmidt Lane, from 3-4 p.m. on Feb. 21 to answer questions about the new rules, which go into effect March 1.

Here is a news release issued by the city this week about the rules and the community meeting:

New Conduct Rules at the City of El Cerrito Recycling + Environmental Resource Center

El Cerrito, CA: The City of El Cerrito Recycling + Environmental Resource Center will begin enforcement of new rules of conduct for Center visitors starting next month.

The City will host an informational meeting to answer questions about the new rules of conduct on Thursday, February 21st, 2013 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Exchange Zone at the Recycling + Environmental Resource Center, 7501 Schmidt Lane, El Cerrito CA 94530.

The new rules are in response to numerous complaints the City has received over the past several years regarding inappropriate behavior of patrons. Examples include: 

• ·       People taking too many books and being aggressive with others in the Exchange Zone
• ·       People scavenging materials from recycling collection bins, including physically getting into recyclingbins or entering restricted staff areas
• ·       People loitering in the facility
• ·       People intimidating other patrons and taking recyclable materials directly from individuals
• ·       People illegally dumping materials

In the interest of continuing to provide a safe and welcoming community resource for all patrons, the City of El Cerrito recently posted the following Rules of Conduct for theCenter, and intends to enforce the new rules starting March 1, 2013: 

• ·       VISITS LIMITED to 2 hours per person per day
• ·       PARKING LIMITED to 30 minutes in the Center, longer parking on Schmidt Lane
• ·       SUPERVISE your children
• ·       SUPERVISE your children and leave pets at home or safely in your car
• ·       ONLY DROP-OFF items that are accepted by the City
• ·       DO NOT get in, on, or move any equipment or enter staff areas
• ·       DO NOT take more than 1 file box of items from the Exchange Zone per day
• ·       DO NOT take any items from bins, other customers or vehicles

“The Center has been a popular community resource since it opened in 1972 and the vast majority of patrons have enjoyed, actively participated in, and used the facilities with enthusiasm and respect,“ said Garth Schultz, Environmental Analyst with the City of El Cerrito.

Schultz continued, “Re-use of materials is an important and effective way to reduce waste sent to landfills and El Cerrito’s environmental footprint.  However, to safely operate theCenter, encourage broad community use of the facility, and best manage the materials we receive at the Center, we need to address the issue of individuals inappropriately scavenging from the Center and individuals loitering there.”

The new rules are intended to keep patrons safe and also to ensure that all members of the public feel welcome to utilize the drop-off Center.

Patrons will still be able to take items like books from the Exchange Zone or other specially marked areas, however, the quantity of materials taken will continue to be limited. Other salvage activities may be allowed with a City permit and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Community members who cannot attend the Community Meeting and have questions, should contact Garth Schultz, Environmental Analyst with the City of El Cerrito, at gschultz@ci.el-cerrito.ca.us or 510-559-7684 or stop by the Recycling + Environmental Resource Center Administration Office during office hours.