The Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority recently announced that three of its 12 mini grant recipients will be San Ramon Valley High School, the Town of Danville and the Athenian High School.
The mini grants, which have been given out since 1999, award a total of more than $50,000 in grant funding to organizations and schools that look to divert waste in the central county area. The CCCSWA hopes that the grants will help the cities and county reduce waste by more than 50 percent.
“We like to look for innovative projects, some things that are different,” said Jenny Oorbeck, waste prevention and recycling specialist for the waste authority. “We especially like the ones that are going to divert a lot of waste and that can be promoted through the community as a project.”
The awards are intended to act as startup funds for a long-term activity. When the committee’s board originally met in April to decide the grant recipients, one of the major factors considered was whether the proposals would have the ability to change the fundamental mindsets and attitudes of people.
“We hope that sometimes the startup funds will have a community long-term impact on diverting waste, not just for a year,” said Oorbeck. “We like ones that educate, so we gave several grants to schools. We’re hoping that has a long-term effect by changing people who are young.”
For the second year in a row, the Athenian High School received a mini grant when it proposed adding recycling bins to outdoor areas. Last year, the high school was given an award for successfully installing a large composting system that automatically churned waste on the site and helped it decompose faster.
The Athenian’s past success played a large role in the committee’s decision this year.
“They’ve been doing a really excellent job,” said Oorbeck. “It definitely helped that they followed through on their commitment the previous year. Because they are so focused on being green all the way around, we feel like we’re playing a good part in reaching their goals.”
San Ramon Valley High followed suit and proposed to construct a sustainability patio that would include picnic benches and recycling bins. The organizers want to create the patio in an area of the school where there would be a lot of foot traffic so that the recycling equipment would be used often.
The patio would also contain a large mural that would teach students the importance of conservation. For their efforts, the high school was awarded nearly $7,000 in funding.
“It’s interesting and a little bit different,” said Oorbeck. “It is an education opportunity in the middle of the campus.”
The Town of Danville was given more than $3,000 to purchase special events containers, which are clear plastic bags with metal frames placed in the town during special occasions.
While the idea is nothing new, the town was awarded funding for the project because of its success in other cities, such as Walnut Creek.
“We’ve done it before, and because it was successful before, we thought it was important to support another one of our cities,” said Oorbeck.
