The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“THE CITY OF SAN BRUNO RECYCLING PROGRAM” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1164 on June 10, 1997.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE CITY OF SAN BRUNO RECYCLING PROGRAM
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HON. TOM LANTOS
of california
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, June 10, 1997
Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the outstanding efforts of the city of San Bruno for its recycling program.
The city of San Bruno, located in the heart of my congressional district, was the first city in San Mateo County to implement a weekly curbside recycling program. Starting in 1988, the program grew to be one of the outstanding environmentally conscious recycling programs in the State of California. The tremendous efforts of the city of San Bruno earned it numerous awards.
One year after implementing the curbside recycling program, the city of San Bruno received the Helen Putnam Award for Excellence in Citywide Weekly Curbside Program by the California League of Cities. Working in conjunction with community leaders, the recycling program was able to boast that 70 percent of the city's households actively participated in recycling, compared to the statewide average of 30 percent. Since then, San Bruno received the first place award from the California State Department of Conservation and the merit of excellence for its curbside recycling program. The growing success of San Bruno's recycling effort is attributed to the proactive partnership between the San Bruno City Council, the San Bruno Garbage Co., city residents, businesses, schools, apartment complexes, and office parks.
Recently, the city of San Bruno renewed its recycling effort by reinstating the San Bruno Environmental and Recycling Committee. The Recycling Committee brings together members of the community and the city of San Bruno to coordinate recycling efforts. The committee, comprised of city council members, teachers, business professionals, and residents, advises the city of San Bruno on methods to improve the recycling campaign. Empowering communities with the ability to recommend policy on environmental and recycling efforts has proven to be a highly effective technique to ensure the long-term success of this community-based recycling effort.
San Bruno's newest effort is driven by the mandate from the State of California that all cities reduce their solid waste by 50 percent by the year 2000. In response to this ambitious goal, the San Bruno Recycling Committee launched its SPACE 2000 Program [Save, Protect and Clean our Environment]. This effort aims to bring recycling to the forefront of the community. In addition to focusing on government and corporate office recycling, SPACE 2000 targets youth. The SPACE 2000 program reaches out to a new generation in order to keep San Bruno an environmentally healthy community. On June 1, 1997, over 1,000 children marched for the environment and recycling in San Bruno's annual Posy Parade, the longest running children's parade in the United States.
I am pleased to recognize San Bruno's proactive, leadership role in reengineering and revitalizing its environment and recycling efforts. As we move into the 21st century, conservation and recycling programs will be the cornerstone of our environmental policy. I am proud of San Bruno's efforts to strengthen community involvement, and its vision and commitment to renew, reuse, and recycle our Nation's resources.
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