A successful Coats for Kids drive made for a warm holiday

- Snow people made of old light bulbs
It’s been a great holiday. Cabinet and Lighting Supply in Reno, Nevada came up with a creative way to reuse old light bulbs. Many people rented or recycled their Christmas trees. For the fifth year in a row, Recology Vacaville Solano and Recology Dixon employee owners worked with a local agency to help a family in need have a special Christmas. The Recology Yuba-Sutter donated new blankets and tarps to the Red Cross and Recology San Mateo County collected coats for kids, teenagers and adults in six Peninsula cities and various drop off locations.
The Coats for Kids collection program concluded on Dec. 20th and Recology San Mateo County would like to thank the cities and residents of Belmont, Burlingame, Foster City, Menlo Park, Redwood City and San Carlos for their participation in this worthwhile program.
Residents in the participating communities placed coats in a clear plastic bag marked “Coats for Kids” next to or on the top of their blue recycling cart on their regular collection day for pick up by the Recology collection drivers. Collection containers labeled “Coats for Kids” were also placed at various locations throughout several communities and Recology’s office where residents were also able to drop off coats.
In just days, Recology and all participating cities in San Mateo County collected over 750 coats! The coats were then sorted by Recology staff and donated to St. Anthony’s Church and Samaritan House for distribution to those families in need.
Recology San Mateo County General Manager, Mario Puccinelli was glad to do it. “Recology has been providing our Coats for Kids Program for many years in the communities we service. It has proven to be a great program helping those in dividuals and families in need,” he said.
The Coats for Kids program is going to be held annually by Recology San Mateo County with the hopes of having more communities participate next year.
![]() Recology San Mateo County (Gino Gasparini) unloading coats at St. Anthony’s. |
![]() Left to right, Sandra Tinoco and Yvette Madera (Recology), Father Medina (St. Anthony’s), Sarah Prescott (Recology) |
![]() Tammy Del Bene on Santa’s lap along with the rest of the Recology crew and the Menlo Park Firefighters Association which was donating and distributing “Toys” that same day at St. Anthony’s.Left to right, Sandra Tinoco and Yvette Madera (Recology), Father Medina (St. Anthony’s), Sarah Prescott (Recology) |
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About Recology San Mateo County:
Recology San Mateo County was chosen in 2008 by RethinkWaste to provide recycling, compost and garbage collection services for its twelve member agencies. Recology’s roots in recycling go back to the 1920s in San Francisco, when garbage men, known then as “scavengers,” actively sought out alternative uses for refuse.
Three ideas for giving to kids this holiday season
It’s the holiday season. Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone. And if you have children you are thinking of during this season, here are a few thoughts from Recology.
Do you know the company Green Toys? They make toys out of recycled milk bottles. There’s just one example of the innovative work being done by vendors to use recovered materials in their products.
Kaboose.com has a list of craft ideas to make from recycled and reusable material. There’s nothing like making things with kids to enrich their early life experiences.
In San Mateo County, you can also participate in the annual Coats for Kids collection drive. Recology San Mateo County will start collecting coats as part of the residential recycling service and will also picking up coats at special drop-off locations.
| Belmont: | Library: 1110 Alameda de las Pulgas |
Monday – Wednesday 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM Thursday – Friday 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM |
| Belmont: | City Hall: 1 Twin Pines Lane |
Monday – Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM |
| Belmont: | Fire Station: 911 Granada Street |
Monday – Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM |
| Burlingame: | City Hall: 501 Primrose Road |
Monday – Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM |
| Burlingame: | Fire Station: 911 Granada Street |
Monday – Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM |
| Foster City: | Recreation Center: 650 Shell Boulevard |
Monday – Friday 8:00 AM – 10:00 PM |
| Menlo Park: | Library: 800 Alma Street |
Monday & Wednesday 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM Tuesday 12:00 PM – 9:00 PM Thursday & Friday 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM Saturday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM Sunday: 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM |
| Menlo Park: | Arrillaga Family Recreation Center: 701 Laurel Street |
Monday – Sunday 5:30 AM – 10:00 PM |
| Menlo Park: | Onetta Harris Community Center: 100 Terminal Avenue |
Monday – Friday 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM |
| Redwood City: | City Hall: 1017 Middlefield Road |
Monday & Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM |
| San Carlos: | City Hall: 600 Elm Street |
Monday & Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM |
| Recology San Mateo County: |
225 Shoreway Road | Monday & Friday 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM |
Recology Vallejo has collected children’s coats each year for the past eight years. The donated coats may be of any size but should be in good enough shape that a child can play, sit and go to school with a sense of pride.
All coats will be cleaned and then given to local children who are in need.
We look forward to your participation during the holiday season.
Atherton, Belmont and Burlingame Residents – It’s Time for BYOB!
It’s a Compost Giveaway on April 16th!
Atherton, Belmont and Burlingame residents, join Recology for this Compost Giveaway–just in time for Earth Day!
Each resident is welcome to take up to 5 gallons of compost (while supplies last) made from yard trimmings and food scraps to enrich their gardens.
Compost is used as an amendment to enrich soil for lawns, gardens, trees and plants. By applying soil mixed with nutrient rich compost, you’re putting organic nutrients back into the soil, using a non-chemical alternative to fertilizers and giving a healthy boost to your garden.
Saturday, April 16th
Atherton: Holbrook-Palmer Park, 150 Watkins Ave, 9AM-Noon
Belmont: City Hall Parking Lot, One Twin Pines Lane, 8-11AM
Burlingame: Burlingame High School, 420 Carolan Ave, 9AM-Noon

Remember, it’s BYOB! Please bring your own bags/buckets.
Atherton, Belmont and Burlingame residents only. Please bring proof of residence.
RethinkWaste is also partnering with its member agencies for their Spring Compost Giveaway events in April and May.
Find a list of their events here: http://rethinkwaste.org/residents/beyond-cart/community-events/compost-giveaways
Burlingame Vice Mayor Prompts Bulb Recycling
Posing as a consumer, Burlingame Vice Mayor Terry Nagel was troubled by the lack of answers she found regarding proper disposal of her compact fluorescent light bulbs.
“Everyone gave me different information,” Nagel said. “Even though the state made disposing of CFLs in residential trash illegal in 2006, they didn’t provide funding for community awareness programs — they passed the law, but gave no money for its enactment.”
Without proper education, the public likely does not know the harmful impact of not recycling these bulbs. While CFLs use about a quarter of the amount of electricity of standard bulbs, they contain mercury, a substance that once in a landfill is there forever, Nagel said.
Since 2008, Nagel has been working to encourage recycling centers in San Mateo County to publicize proper handling of CFLs. She enlisted the help of Recology — which will be taking over garbage services in a large part of the county starting in January — to post a list of CFL disposal locations within the county.
“This is just one component in the many services we provide,” Recology spokeswoman Gina Simi said. “Proper disposal is vital to the environment and our communities.”
Only a handful of recycling centers were available a couple years ago, but now Recology lists about 26 throughout San Mateo County, including several Home Depot and IKEA locations.
“These big businesses have been great about taking back CFLs,” Nagel said. “Every time people go to these stores, they are encouraged to recycle. It’s good to have reminders out there.”
With composting and mixed recycling coming to Burlingame, it is an ideal time to be reinforcing proper disposal of hazardous waste, Nagel said. It is necessary for people to understand the importance of recycling CFLs, both in environmental terms and for their own safety.
By: Sarah Haughey
Examiner Staff Writer
July 29, 2010
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Burlingame-vice-mayor-prompts-bulb-recycling-99499659.html





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