2 Companies Earn Recycling Awards

In 1994, Seimen Solar Industries of Camarillo recycled 50 wooden pallets each week, two tons of fiberglass each month, and large amounts of cardboard, paper and other materials used in its daily operations.

In 1993, International Coffee & Tea Inc., owner of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf chain of stores, composted about 50 tons of wet coffee grounds into reusable fertilizer and top soil.

That same year the Camarillo company also recycled all the paper used at its roasting plant, converted used wooden shipping crates to use as store paneling, and reused about 50 corrugated boxes per week.

Since then, International Coffee & Tea has grown from 15 to 25 stores and, according to General Manager Anne-Marie Hyman, has nearly doubled all of its waste-reduction figures.

For their recycling efforts, both Siemens and International Coffee & Tea received best overall conservation awards, which are presented annually by Camarillo’s WasteWatch program. The award program acknowledges businesses that have taken specific steps to reduce waste. Nominations for the 1995 awards are being accepted through Aug. 31.

“Businesses in Camarillo seem to be very aware of sound waste-management practices,” said Rebecca Guay, the city’s recycling coordinator. “Through our planning efforts, our General Plan and our zoning requirements we have focused a lot on the cleaner industries. We don’t have a lot of metal plating shops, for example.”

“We look for companies that have made changes--that maybe in their manufacturing use less material than they did before, or now they send out products in recycled packages,” said Guay.

For more information on the 1995 awards, call 388-5380.