After months of planning, VALCORE Recycling has launched a website: www.VALCORErecycling.org. I’d like to share a few of the features that we have included on our site.

Our Home page has a map to our site, the hours of operation and a description of who we are. The Recycling page lists the current prices paid for California Redemption Value (CRV) containers and a list of the recyclable materials that we accept for donation.

Teachers and youth groups should look at our Tours page for information about an educational tour of our yard. We will soon add a link to the Solano County website that will have information on tours to recycling and garbage companies around the county.

Our Reuse page will be periodically updated with a list of salvaged materials that are available to teachers and the public at the VALCORE site. It has a link to our “Buy Recycled Products” page which lists companies that sell goods made from recycled, salvaged or organic materials. The Reuse page also has a link to www.solanomax.org.

This column has a web page with current “A Sorted Affair” columns and classic columns such as the Green Party Guide and “How to make sense of those recycling numbers on the bottom of plastic containers”.

I have two favorite pages: the Links page and Events page. Our Links page lists websites for recycling opportunities in Vallejo and surrounding counties. The popular Solano County Recycling Guide will be online soon and we’ll have a link to that. There are instant links to information on recycling household hazardous waste, composting, reuse opportunities as well as state and national recycling sites.

We will update our Events page often. Mark your calendars for April 26 to celebrate Earth Day in Vallejo. Napa teachers can get information on a two-day workshop featuring a Watershed curriculum and the Closing the Loop recycling curriculum. The Recycled Products Trade Show returns to Sacramento on April 10th and 11th. We’ve included a link for online registration.

Our Composting page is linked to sites that will help you set up composting in your backyard and companies that sell composting bins.

The History page gives highlights of our twenty-two years in business and the Directors page lists our board of directors and officers.

The Fundraising page lists the Member Groups who manage VALCORE and Account Groups. Local nonprofit organizations can become Account Groups to earn money by redeeming (CRV) beverage containers at VALCORE. We pay the money directly to the nonprofit organization. Account groups receive a higher price for CRV aluminum drink cans than is paid to the public.

A big round of applause goes to our webmaster, Trevor Blackstone, a Boy Scout and Hogan High student; VALCORE board members for their input on the site; and Solano Computer Resource.

If you have usable materials that are not traditionally recycled, you can list them on www.solanomax.org or www.napamax.org. This pair of local websites were locally designed and are based on the state-wide CalMAX materials exchange program (www.calmax.org).

In the past, NapaMAX was published as an annual booklet which became outdated very quickly. To help combat the "stale" listing problem and better track how much material avoids the landfill, the City of Napa received a grant from the State of California to go online with the program and the Solano County Waste Task Force joined in the effort.

One unique feature of this site is mobile paging for construction companies that need materials but can't spend all day checking their computers. Another advantage of the new site is the capacity for listers to include a digital picture with their listing. The program is free and with just few clicks on your computer you might find a home that reusable item and avoid the dump. Check out this site before you go out to buy something new. What you need may be available for considerably less (or even free!).