CVSan Wins SWANA 2016 Excellence Award

Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) has named Castro Valley Sanitary District (CVSan) as the winner of the 2016 SWANA Bronze Excellence Award in the Communication, Education, and Marketing Tools category. The award will be presented at SWANA’s annual conference, WASTECON®, on August 23, 2016, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

CVSan is receiving the award for its “4Rs Student Activity Book,” a printed coloring and activity book that students bring home to their families, one of CVSan’s target audiences. The activity book’s family-friendly activities correlate to California Common Core State Standards and emphasize critical thinking and problem solving.

“The activity book was created in 2015 and features illustrated characters who explain the concepts of zero waste through the tenets of the 4Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot),” said Naomi Lue, Solid Waste Supervisor. “The 4Rs Student Activity Book was developed and written by CVSan staff; it meets a need in the industry to present zero waste concepts to grade school children and is innovative and thoughtful in its approach.”

SWANA has been the leading professional association in the solid waste field for more than 50 years. SWANA’s Excellence Awards Program recognizes outstanding programs that advance the practice of environmentally and economically sound solid waste management through their commitment to utilizing effective technologies, advancing worker and community health and safety, and implementing successful public education and outreach programs.

CVSan is a small public agency organized under the Health and Safety Code of the State of California. CVSan has a goal of Zero Waste, or 90%+ diversion by the year 2029. One of the objectives from CVSan’s Zero Waste Communications Plan is to increase awareness of Zero Waste using the 4Rs through 2016.