reuse assistance grants (rags) program

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Reuse Assistance Grants (RAGs) Program

www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Reuse/Grants

California Integrated Waste Management Board’s

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Background:

Annual and competitive program that the Board developed to establish and enhance reuse activities at the local level.

Established in 1999 when the Board secured an annual expenditure authority of $250,000 through BCP Number 5.

The FY 1999/2000 offering kick-started the RAGs program.

31 projects have been awarded.

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Eligibility Information:

Local governments that have the responsibility of achieving AB 939 are eligible.

Partnerships with nonprofits or businesses are encouraged to achieve the projects’ goals.

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Definition of Reuse:

Reuse is defined as using a material over again in its current form without any significant processing that alters its materials structure.

Examples of Reuse:

– Lumber as lumber, rather than milling logs into lumber.

– Food as human food, rather than composting.

With the limited funding availability, the RAGs focus on reuse, rather than including recycling projects.

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Current & Past Recipients:

Information about current and past RAG recipients is maintained on the Board’s Web site at www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Reuse/Grants and includes:

– Project Summaries

– Award Amounts

– Contact Information

– Progress Reports

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Web Site:

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List of Grant Recipients:

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Project Summaries/Contact Info.:

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Grants by Jurisdiction:

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Project Types:

22%

13%

9%3%16%

24%

13%

C&D Reuse

E-Waste Reuse

Food Rescue

Furniture Reuse

Habitat for HumanityReStore

Materials Exchange

Reuse EducationProgram

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Number of Applicants:

4

2720

36

0

10

20

30

40

1999/2000 2000/2001 2001/2002 2002/2003 &2003/2004

Number of Applicants

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Funds Available Versus Funds Requested:

$0$200,000$400,000$600,000$800,000

$1,000,000$1,200,000$1,400,000$1,600,000

1999/2000 2000/2001 2001/2002 2002/2003 &2003/2004

Funds Available Funds Requested

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The numbers shown are the amounts awarded

Grantees provide a similar amount as a match

Project Summaries:

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City of Redding: $31,770 Expanded its existing reuse

drop-off area.

San Joaquin County: $23,500 Developed an educational outreach

program to encourage reuse.

FY 1999/2000 Grantees:

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Tehama County Sanitary Landfill Agency: $25,152 This is the only recipient that declined their grant, due to

unforeseen conflicts.Funds were to be used to construct a building to expand a materials exchange.

Ventura County: $43,532 Promoted the ReStore through

newspaper and phone book advertisements, and a billboard. The ReStore now diverts over 209 tons of C&D materials annually.

FY 1999/2000 Grantees Continued…

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City of Arcata: $50,000 Expanded the nonprofit Arcata Community

Recycling Center’s Reusables Depot facility.

City of Lomita: $50,000 Partnered with the nonprofit Food Finders to

enhance their food rescue program. From April 2001 to April 2003:

– Collected 206 tons of food– Served 881,000 meals to the needy


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City of Los Angeles: $45,361 Expanded the nonprofit L.A. SHARES’ outreach to the

business community to channel business discards to nonprofit and educational organizations. (This grant was in addition to a direct grant provided by the Board in 1999.)

Del Norte Solid Waste Mgmt. Authority: $48,352

Created construction drawings for the Resource Recovery Park's Reuse Center. Procured an energy-efficient refrigerator for a food bank.

FY 2000/2001 Grantees: Continued…

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Sacramento County: $50,000 Established a Habitat for Humanity ReStore in

Sacramento.

University of California, Berkeley: $28,119 Created a materials exchange on campus.


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City of Los Angeles: $50,000– Partnered with Kenter Canyon Charter School and

L.A.U.S.D. to replace the school's small, inadequate library;

– Received a donation of a 1,660 sq.ft. CaliforniaCraftsman-style house, that was built for the movie Life as a House, and slated for demolition;

and


Old Library

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– Disassembled and catalogued the house’s parts, andreconstructed the house on the school’s property.

House – New Library

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City of Modesto: $24,059Developed, for all Modesto businesses, a quarterly newsletter to promote reuse.

City of Napa: $38,930 Reformed, expanded, and promoted NapaMax, a

materials exchange.


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City of Porterville: $23,603 Purchased tools to enhance the Porterville Developmental Center’s furniture reuse program and now reuses over 48 tons of materials

annually.

City of San Jose: $50,000 Enhanced the nonprofit Resource Area for

Teachers (RAFT)’s reuse activities and increased the number of teacher members utilizing RAFT's services from 4,000 to 5,650.


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El Dorado County: $49,990 Expanded El Dorado County’s Habitat for

Humanity ReStore. From April 2002 to February 2004, received:

– 342 donations– 323,000 pounds of C&D materials suitable for

sale


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Kern County: $40,099 Established an e-waste reuse program for

businesses to donate dated electronics to the nonprofit Merit Corp.

Refurbished:

– 1,050 computers

– 1,500 computer monitors

– 50 printers


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Sonoma County: $36,285 – Partnered with Garbage Reincarnation, Inc., to

create an educational reuse showcase and related workshop series to complement the reuse building at the Central Landfill;

– Organized donated materialsand volunteers to build a

rustic facade for the reuse building;


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– Constructed and staffed a 20’x30’ Reuse Education Center;

– Employed used materials in all aspects of construction;

– Acquired from scrap artists samples of creative projects using discarded materials; and

– Conducted workshops on employing used building materials in construction.


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From June 2002 to March 2004:

Daily Visitor Count:

– Initial: 150 vehicles

– One month after grand opening: 170 vehicles

Sales:

– Initial: $560 per week

– End of grant: $770 per week


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City of Oakland: $50,000 Partnering with the nonprofit

Community Woodworks to increase lumber reuse.

City of Santa Barbara: $46,105 Targeting the community with a reuse campaign.

City of Santa Clarita: $49,490 Upgrading the Santa Clarita Valley Swap, and

creating a food waste donation program.


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Nevada County: $4,978 (partially funded from FY 2003/2004)Designing, constructing, and promoting a C&D reuse facility.

San Luis Obispo County: $50,000 Relocating the existing Habitat for Humanity ReStore as its lease was terminated.


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West Contra Costa Integrated Waste Management Authority: $49,425Reusing e-waste in job training and education programs.

City of Arcata: $19,225Partnering with the nonprofit Arcata Endeavor to reclaim and redistribute edible food.

City of Lakewood: $43,615Diverting 810 tons annually of Bulky Item Collection donations to reuse facilities.


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Kern County: $8,382Enhancing an e-waste reuse program for businesses and residents to donate dated electronics to the thrift store network.

Marin County: $37,728Creating and advertising MarinMax, a Web-based materials exchange.

Nevada County: $45,021 (partially funded from FY 2002/2003)Designing, constructing, and promoting a C&D reuse facility.


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Santa Cruz County: $46,328Refurbishing and distributing e-waste, and upgrading the ProMAX materials exchange.

Ventura County: $49,700Supporting Ventura County’s Habitat for Humanity ReStore.


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RAGs Program Results:

$1.2 million awarded by the Board.

Over $3.6 million provided by Grantees in eligible matching funds for the grant projects.

Grant projects are often part of a larger project that the Board helped achieve.

A little money from the Board goes a very long way!

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31 projects awarded that:

– Are well-established and enduring

– Divert key priority materials including e-waste, C&D, food, etc.


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There are numerous measures of success (e.g., tons, dollars saved, jobs created, people served, children educated, etc.).

By any measure, it is clear that the RAGs funds have been well spent by the Board.


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Reuse: The Heart of Waste Prevention

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reuse assistance grants (rags) program

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