Group to Recycle Cans to Fund Meal Program

The first disaster, Alex Andres explained, arrived last summer.

Faced with a $25,000 cut in city funding, the Organization for the Needs of the Elderly was on the brink of scrapping a program that delivers meals to homebound seniors. A longtime volunteer, Andres proposed paper recycling as a way to recoup the lost money.

Soon after, ONE was collecting $100 for every ton of newsprint deposited at its Senior Service and Resource Center in Reseda and at its sister site in Van Nuys. In 10 months, the organization raised at least $4,000, Andres estimated.

“There’s money in paper,” he said shortly after the bins were installed.

Not anymore.

“The market is way, way down,” Andres admitted last week, noting that the price of recycled newsprint has plunged to just $10 per ton.

Recyclers are optimistic that newsprint prices will rise later this year, but ONE has already set its sights on another target: aluminum cans.

“They’re much in demand,” Andres said. “The price is good.”

The current rate is about 4 cents per can, which has remained stable during the upheaval in newsprint value. Andres hopes to convince the senior centers’ visitors and other community members to donate their cans to help keep ONE’s homebound-meals program in business.

“It gives them an opportunity for paying back what they’re getting,” he said. “It’s a tremendous morale boost.”

People who wish to donate recyclables can drop them off at 18255 Victory Blvd. in Reseda and 17400 Victory Blvd. in Van Nuys. For information, call (818) 705-2345.