Recycling Center Opening Delayed Again

Those waiting for El Cerrito's new to open will have to wait a bit longer, city officials say.

The state-of-the-art facility was originally expected to open last month, but had to be delayed because it had not received its water hook-up from East Bay MUD, the utility in charge of water lines. City officials said last month that they hoped to begin operation in the middle of this month.

But now, according to city Environmental Analyst Garth Schultz, who manages the Recycling Center, the opening is now expected "sometime in April." The East Bay MUD water connection is still being worked on, and once it's completed, some sprinkler connections and landscaping will need to be done, he said.

Specific dates and details on the opening, once they become available, can be found on the Web site of the city's Environmental Services Division, he said.

The city is also planning a ribbon-cutting and open house at the facility, formally known as the El Cerrito Recycling and Environmental Resource Center, on Earth Day, Sunday, April 22, 4-6 p.m., with light refreshments and a special activity for kids, he said. (The city's official celebration of Earth Day takes place the day before, Saturday, April 21.)

Attendees can see the new adminstration building, the Exchange Zone (for books and other re-use items), the recycling drop-off areas, the operations area and the many green features, such as the solar panels and water-recycling system. The center is seeking LEED Platinum certification, the highest green rating for buildings.

The new facility is built on same site – the foot of an abandoned hillside rock quarry at 7501 Schmidt Lane – as the city's now-gone , which began in 1971 and which closed May 1 to make way for construction of the replacement. Scaled-down interim recycling services have been conducted on the periphery of the construction site since then.

The old facility was showing its age, and its design – having grown piecemeal over the decades – included somewhat haphazard traffic access that posed potential safety hazards. The new facility will keep the center's trucks and forklifts separate from the vehicles of center users.

It will also provide information about recycling and environmental resources and collect more materials than the old one did.

"In addition to all previously collected items," Schultz said in an email notice, "the City will begin collecting new recyclable or reusable materials, including CFLs, pharmaceuticals, medical sharps, all electronics and components, carpet, plate glass, school and art supplies, used cooking oil, EPS foam, used packaging materials, milk cartons, cotton textiles, bicycles, food bank donations, used building materials and household items, corks and more!"

In the category of reuse materials, the old center had a popular Book Exchange whose use has  over some book resellers accused of aggressively elbowing others out of the way and making off with boxes of the choice selections. The Book Exchange will continue at the new center under a set of civility rules that are being revised by the city.

For email alerts of future updates on the Recycling Center, click the "Keep me posted" button below. For past articles on the center, click the "El Cerrito Recycling Center" link next to "Related Topics" below.