SIMI VALLEY : Recycling Program Begins at Schools

The city of Simi Valley and the Simi Valley Unified School District have launched a recycling program in local schools.

The program, which kicked off Monday, includes glass, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, foam trays, foam cups and plastic utensils in the cafeterias of the district’s 26 schools, said Jocelyn Reed, a city official who helped organize the program.

In addition, more than 800 five-gallon recycling pails have been distributed to several schools for collecting paper and beverage containers in classrooms, Reed said. The schools that have received the recycling containers include Royal High School, Sequoia Junior High School and Lincoln, Berylwood, Knolls, Township and White Oak elementary schools.

Reed said G.I. Rubbish Co., which contracts with the district to haul trash, will collect the recyclable materials. Reed said officials estimate that about half of the 1,720 tons of paper, beverage and food containers and other waste generated by the district annually can be recycled.

The school district recycling program is part of the effort to comply with a state law that requires all cities to reduce the flow of trash into landfills by 25% by 1995 and by 50% by the turn of the century.

Reed said the city has already reduced trash flowing into the Simi Valley Landfill by 18% and that the school recycling program is expected to increase that by another 1.5%.