FOUNTAIN VALLEY : City Wins Award for Recycling Program

Mayor John J. Collins accepted an award Monday, given to the city for its commitment to buying and promoting the use of recycled products, at a ceremony in Portland.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors gave the city the Outstanding Achievement Award in its Buy Recycled Purchase Award Program. Fountain Valley was one of four cities nationwide to win the honor.

More than 200 cities competed for the award, sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Collins said.

Susan G. Lynn, Fountain Valley’s environmental programs manager, said that two cities with populations under 100,000 and two cities with more than 100,000 residents were given the awards.

Palo Alto was the other recipient for cities with populations of less than 100,000, Lynn said. The two larger cities that won awards were San Jose and Philadelphia, she said.

“We just feel it’s a major affirmation from the U.S. Conference of Mayors that we are stimulating and enhancing markets for recycled materials,” Lynn said.

For the city to get the recognition “validates the philosophy that we adopted four years ago to be environmentally responsible,” Collins said.

In 1990, the city adopted its “buy recycled” purchase policy, Collins said.

Collins added that the city has made a conscious effort to spend money on environmentally sensitive products.

But the policy has gone beyond buying recyclable paper products or printing the City Council agenda on both sides of the paper to reduce paper usage.

Collins said the city uses paper clips made from auto parts and rubberized asphalt containing used tires for street pavement projects. In addition, the city recently bought park benches and picnic tables made from plastic milk jugs and soda bottles. The furniture has been placed at the Civic Center.