El Cerrito Recycling Center Ribbon-Cutting

Editor's note: The following is a city of El Cerrito news release, April 5, 2012:

The City of El Cerrito will hold a ribbon cutting celebration for the new El Cerrito Recycling and Environmental Resource Center on Earth Day, Sunday April 22, 2012 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Project partnersPankow Builders, Noll & Tam, Swinerton Management and Consulting, and ZETA Communities will participate in the celebration. The public is invited to attend.

“The City is delighted to debut this long awaited, and long planned for project to the public.  At the celebration, attendees will meet the project’s builders and architects, be able to tour the facility, learn about the various green building elements that were incorporated into the project, as well as be introduced to all the Center’s new services and features”,  said Melanie Mintz, the City’s Environmental Services Division Manager.

The celebration will include a dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by an open house, tours and a hands-on art activity for children. Light refreshments will be served.

The new facility is aiming to be certified as LEED® Platinum from the US Green Building Council.  Sustainable elements of the project include 10kW of solar photovoltaic panels, an 11,000 gallon rainwater cistern, native landscaping, rain gardens that filter stormwater runoff, extensive energy efficiency measures, a nearly 100% daylight autonomous Administration Building, and reuse of materials from the former Recycling Center.  The 2,200 square foot net zero energy Administrative Building was constructed off-site in ZETA Communities’s factory in McClellan, CA, utilizing a process that minimizes construction waste. The design of the new Center also includes educational and interpretive elements and wayfinding and informational signage aimed to make navigation and use of the Center easier for customers.

The Center serves as a community drop-off Center for recyclable materials from El Cerrito and surrounding communities. The rebuilt Center offers improved public recycling drop-off facilities  and will be able to accept a broader range of reusable materials.  The new Center was designed to also serve as an environmental sustainability hub for the City of El Cerrito and houses the City’s Environmental Services Division.   An estimated 350 users visit the Center daily.

In 2010, the City of El Cerrito selected the team of Pankow Builders and Noll & Tam Architects through a competitive “best value“ design-build RFP  process. Construction for the City’s new Recycling and Environmental Resources Center began in May 2011. The total project cost is estimated at $3.5M. The project is funded by the City’s Integrated Waste Management Fund.

The Center is located at 7501 Schmidt Lane in El Cerrito, CA 94530.