Expo Center going green

A large grant from the Department of Conservation is helping the Expo Center revamp the way it handles its waste. Soon, the center will be recycling everything as a way to cut down its waste, said Lillian Clark, resource conservation specialist for the county's Recycleworks program.

"If they re-use material back into the community, they'll save in disposal costs and benefiting the local environment by not contributing to the landfill," Clark said.

This year's county fair will have its animal waste, straw and food waste all turned into compost and there will be plenty of recycle bins around for people to use, she said. Recent statistics indicate people may recycle at home, but not as much when they are not at home where they often consume more beverages.

On top of the fair's recycling effort, the county-owned Expo Center will also adopt a top-to-bottom approach to recycling and reusing material. For example, a recent vendor at the Expo Center left behind 350 plastic buckets that could have ended up in the landfill. Instead, they were donated to schools that used them for can and bottle recycling, Clark said.

Other improvements include the Expo Center's landscaping getting spruced up to adhere to green philosophy, and the installation of new compactors to handle different types of recyclable goods and waste.

Jon Mays can be reached by e-mail at jon@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 107. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.