758 Pine Street
Santa Rosa, CA 95404


707.568.3783
707.575.6866 - fax
resources@c2alts.net

Recycling/ Waste Reduction

Successful waste reduction and recycling programs require adequate infrastructure, clear communication, and ongoing attention. C2: Alternative Services offers assistance with all of these elements. The publication “Establishing a Waste Reduction Program at Work” which we co-authored for the California Integrated Waste Management Board several years ago, explicates many of our techniques.

As the contracted Recycling Coordinator for the City of Rohnert Park, California, C2: Alternative Services works with residents and businesses to promote waste reduction and recycling.  This long-term relationship has resulted in continual improvement over time as documented in a recent report.

Other projects involve implementation without an ongoing management component, such as our initiation of a major recycling program at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center.

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Used Oil Recycling

The California Integrated Waste Management Board’s Used Oil Recycling Program includes Block Grants and Opportunity Grants to local governments; Non-Profit Grants, and Research, Demonstration and Testing Grants. C2: Alternative Services has worked on projects funded by each of these, back to the first Block Grants in FY1993-94. A few of these grant-funded activities and innovations include:

• Certified used oil collection centers: recruiting, visits, assistance
• Agricultural used oil collection programs: establishing and equipping collection centers, publicity & outreach to farmers
• Marina used oil and bilge pad programs, including extensive one-on-one outreach to boaters.
• Outreach to residents of multifamily housing
• Spanish-language public radio intensive campaigns including live remotes, interviews, “mini-dramas”
• Labeling residential garbage cans with “no toxics” message
• Storm drain curb markers
• Promoting curbside recycling programs: door-to-door, direct mail
• Off-road vehicle outreach, including a statewide program.
• Native American “oil change clinics”
• High school and Community College Auto Shop classes
• Point-of-Purchase store displays
• “Do-it-Yourself Oil Changer Personality Quiz”
• Wheel-of-Fortune made from recycled auto parts
• Slide chart for oil recycling locations
• English as a Second Language curriculum

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Spanish-Language Environmental Outreach

• Media planning and placement:
  We can help you pick the right mix of media and the right messages to reach the right target audiences within your Spanish-speaking community. We offer complete services including graphic layout, sound and video recording.
• Community-based social marketing
  Bring environmental messages directly to the people through community venues, organizations, and leaders.
• Live environmental hotline
  We can offer you a dedicated toll-free line answered by trained bilingual staff.  Give us the information in English, we’ll communicate it in Spanish!

Whether you would like a complete new Spanish-language outreach program, or would like some assistance with your existing efforts, we are happy to discuss options and come up with a plan that works for you.

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English as a Second Language  

Recent immigrants are an important and challenging target audience for environmental outreach programs. For example, research conducted by San Francisco State University showed that immigrants in the U.S. less than 15 years are more than five times as likely to improperly dispose of used motor oil as the general population.

C2: Alternative Services has met this challenge by introducing environmental messages to adult English as Second Language (ESL) classes. These classes are excellent venues for reaching adult newcomers:

• Classes are very diverse, often including speakers of several different languages
• There is no need to translate information, since the classes are taught in English
• ESL teachers are a trusted source of information, an important factor for a population that is often wary of authority
• Adult ESL students are extremely motivated learners
• ESL teachers are experts in communicating with multicultural populations

We currently have a grant from the California Integrated Waste Management Board to introduce our lesson “The Family Car” to schools in 18 counties in Northern California.; Response from teachers and students has been excellent, and we look forward to developing similar programs to address other important environmental topics.

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