San José, CA – An already top-notch recycling program in the City of San José will soon get even better. Starting in May 2008, garbage from all City facilities and litter cans along sidewalks and at parks, libraries and other public spaces will be sorted for recyclable and compostable materials. This will allow the City to recycle 75% of wastes from City-owned and operated facilities – and to keep that waste from going into the local landfills, and it will make San José’s one of the best performing city facility programs in the nation.

“We want to challenge our local businesses to look at innovative ways they can reduce their waste,” said John Stufflebean, Director of the City’s Environmental Services. “The City’s leading-edge recycling program can serve as a model for Bay-Area businesses and institutions.”

Waste from all City facilities, including San José Mineta International Airport, McEnery Convention Center, public libraries, and community centers, will go to a state-of-the-art, 300-kilowatt solar-powered waste processing facility operated by Green Waste Recovery in central San José. The remaining organic waste, including food, will be composted at the Z-Best composting facility in southern Santa Clara County. Delivering garbage to the more centrally located sorting facility will help to reduce traffic and greenhouse gasses.

For more than a decade, San José has had one of the best recycling rates in the nation, with an overall landfill diversion rate of 62%.

This new program is one of many designed to achieve the City’s Green Vision goal of becoming a Zero Waste city by diverting 100% of its waste by 2022. Other efforts to reduce waste include maximizing recycling at key public venues and at San José’s largest community events, such as next month’s Cinco de Mayo celebration and the Comcast San José Jazz Festival in August. Children’s Discovery Museum of San José “greened” its operations on Earth Day through a partnership with the City to expand recycling and implement a new food composting programs.

The San José City Council approved, on April 22, new agreements that will allow optimal recycling at City-owned and operated facilities. For more information about San José’s Zero Waste programs, go to: www.sjrecycles.org

About San José’s Green Vision

San Jose’s Green Vision is an ambitious and comprehensive 15-year plan to solve environmental problems and grow the local economy. Focused around three elements – Clean Tech Innovation, Sustainability, and Green Mobility – San José’s Green Vision is a roadmap for the City to become the world’s center of Clean Tech innovation. The Green Vision sets 10 bold goals through which San José will lead the nation in becoming more energy efficient, producing and using electricity from clean renewable sources, creating green buildings, diverting waste from landfills, creating greener street systems, delivering recycled water, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. For more information, please visit, http://www.sanjoseca.gov/pdf/SanJoseGreenVision.pdf