Cost-cutting has taken a new turn with a waste paper recycling program in the Bldg.
90 complex. Labwide implementation of this program significantly reduced the Laboratory's waste
disposal costs, while still providing a valuable resource for recycling.
Through a long-term contract with Richmond Sanitary Service, offices have been equipped with
small desktop boxes for collecting used white paper. These boxes are emptied into the centrally
located green bins, which are also supplied by Richmond Sanitary. The containers and the pick-up
services are free. Richmond Sanitary is reimbursed only with the value of the paper they pick up
each week.
White paper that can be sorted for the new recycling program includes plain bond, fax, stationary,
copier, and printer paper (including Currents). Everything else -- colored paper, newspaper, and
magazines -- goes in the regular trash cans.
The white paper bins are emptied daily by Facilities Department custodians into large dumpsters
outside the building. Each week, Richmond Sanitary collects the paper in these dumpsters and
transports it to its own facility. The regular recyclable trash (including the wet trash meant
for the blue-lined cans) is taken to sorting center.
The success of the recycling program is dependent upon everyone's willingness to participate,
says Maintenance Superintendent Bob Berninzoni. "If everyone tries to make it work, we could
potentially save 80 percent of the Lab's office waste removal costs. It only requires a few
minutes of time each day."
The recycling program also includes cardboard recycling, which is coordinated with Richmond
Sanitary. Cardboard is collected in receptacles alongside those for the white paper. The cardboard
is collected weekly for recycling at no charge to the Laboratory.
"This can be a real win-win situation," says Berninzone. "We could save tens of thousands of
dollars in waste removal, and continue to contribute a valuable resource to the community waste
paper."
Shelley Worsham emphasizes that in addition to the recycle program, pollution prevention is also
an important component of cost cutting, which means simply using less paper and re-using more.
This program is so successful, Worsham says, that the Lab recyles more white paper than some
cities in the Bay Area.
For more information regarding the recycle program and waste minimization, contact Bob Berninzoni
(X5576) or Shelley Worsham (X6123).
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