The Center for the Development of Recycling (CDR) is a university-based, non-profit, environmental research and service organization. The CDR operates the recycling and reuse website RecycleStuff.org for the counties of Santa Clara and San Mateo, a recycling call center and household hazardous waste appointment system for Santa Clara County, and has completed over 60 contracted projects. The CDR is located in the Department of

Environmental Studies Environmental studies is a multidisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human interaction with the environment. Environmental studies connects principles from the physical sciences, commerce/economics, the humanities, and social ...

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...

(SJSU). Faculty-managed service-learning university students collect and populate the website with data, respond to information requests from the public, and work on recycling and waste reduction projects for the community. CDR student's provide the community with a cost-effient public service. Hundreds of its service learning students have completed internships with local government and industry and over 100 have transitioned from college to

sustainable materials management Sustainable Materials Management is a systemic approach to using and reusing materials more productively over their entire lifecycles. It represents a change in how a society thinks about the use of natural resources and environmental protection. By ...

careers with industry and government.

Organization

CDR operates with a part-time Director, three compensated part-time students who serve as Administrative Manager, Project Manager, HHW Manager, and a staff of student service-learning interns who earn academic credit. CDR Director is a Department of Environmental Studies faculty member who is responsible for all activities including management of staff, projects, equipment, budget, and adherence to University regulations. The San Jose State University Foundation manages accounting and payroll services.

Website

The CDR’s website, RecycleStuff.org, assists users to find locations for recycling, reuse, and the donation of goods. It lists specific services available to recycle or reuse over 2000 material types from over 1600 companies and local governments. Links and documents are provided to assist users with access to multiple information sources that address nearly any question about recycling and waste management. The site features specific information about recycling and reuse services provided by private businesses, local government, non-profits, and landfills.

History

The CDR was founded in 1989 by Bruce Olszewski. In 1991, CDR bridged personnel and equipment resources of SJSU with

Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...

and its 15 cities that resulted in an alliance to provide cost-effective recycling information services for County residents and businesses that also created student service-learning opportunities. In 1992, the CDR began operating the County of Santa Clara Recycling Hotline. CDR added a donor funded website in 1999. In 2017, CDR expanded its organization to include the County of San Mateo.

Recycling Hotline

Since 1992, the CDR has operated the County of Santa Clara Recycling Hotline under contract with the County of Santa Clara. The hotline was created to assist residents with finding a reuse or recycling center for any recyclable item they may have. The student-operated hotline serves the 16 jurisdictions of Santa Clara County which include:

Campbell Campbell may refer to: People Surname * Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell Given name * Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer * Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...

Cupertino Cupertino ( ) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 57,8 ...

, Gilroy, Los Altos,

Los Altos Hills Los Altos Hills (; ''Los Altos'', Spanish language, Spanish for "The Heights") is an List of municipalities in California, incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 8,4 ...

Los Gatos Los Gatos (, ; ) is an List of municipalities in California, incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located in the San Franci ...

Milpitas Milpitas (Spanish for "little milpas") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in Silicon Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 80,273. The city's origins lie in Rancho Milpitas, granted to Californio ranchero José Marí ...

Monte Sereno Monte Sereno (Spanish for "Serene Mountain") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 3,479 at the 2020 census. The city is located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, about southwest of San Jose, ...

Morgan Hill Morgan Hill is a city in Santa Clara County, California, at the southern tip of Silicon Valley, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Morgan Hill is an affluent residential community, the seat of several high-tech companies, and a dining, entertainmen ...

, Mountain View,

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was estab ...

, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga,

Sunnyvale Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwest Santa Clara County in the U.S. state of California. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the north ...

, and the

unincorporated areas An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Projects

Faculty-managed students work on environment-related projects for businesses, government agencies, consultants, and non-profit organizations. CDR has contracted to work on urban water conservation and recycling projects involving residential and commercial sectors, hotels, multi-family buildings, multi-tenant office buildings and conducting various types of surveys. CDR is also involved in community outreach to promote recycling and proper household hazardous waste disposal among Santa Clara County residents, and assists in expanding the recycling program at SJSU.

Publications

CDR makes recycling and waste management-related documents available to the public. Recycling and recycling-related guides can be downloaded for free from their web site (www.recyclestuff.org). The CDR annually updates and releases the following publications:
Stop Junk Mail KitHome Composting Brochure

References

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External links

Center for the Development of Recycling
Recycling organizations Recycling in the United States Environmental education Environmental studies organizations