The California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB)

In 1989, the CIWMB was charged by the California Legislature to reduce by half the amount of  waste Californians throw into landfills, by the year 2000.  The CIWMB tracks wastes disposed in California, imposes waste reduction standards on local agencies, and builds markets to support the collection and re-use or recycling of waste materials. 

The CIWMB has many on-line databases with dozens of potential uses for builders of sustainable enterprises or those simply interested in sustainable living.  It also has reams of printed materials on a variety of sustainability topics.

Databases:

• CalMax, the California Materials Exchange: a free web-based service matching sources of recycled materials with people who need them. 
• Recycled Content Construction Product Manufacturers
• Recycled Content Products
• Waste Characterization: What do we still throw away?

Topic Areas

• Home Gardening and Composting
• Grant and Loan Programs
• Green Building
• Market Development Zones in California
• Historic market prices for plastics
• Procurement programs
• Products made from Waste Tires

The CIWMB is the place where I work... my real job. The CIWMB has helped build a huge increases in recycling in California, and has saved millions of tons of waste from being buried in landfills.  Here at Sustainable Enterprises, however, we are more concerned with what to do with the waste rather than measuring or collecting it.  Happily, the CIWMB is also changing its focus in this direction.

Mostly, Sustainable Enterprises is looking for people with knowledge in molding, extrusion and other ways to make products out of recycled plastic.