UCP unites with Zero Trash Sonoma to construct an aluminium can recycling facility at Flipside Thrift

Aluminium recycling is not just the need of the hour but also a very important step for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reaching a carbon-neutral atmosphere. City Council on Tuesday reported that the installation of an aluminium can recycling facility at Flipside Thrift on Commerce Boulevard had been approved, offering locals another choice for recovering the 5- or 10-cent levy they paid on containers as part of California's "bottle bill."

Flipside Thrift on Commerce Boulevard is a thrift store which accepts quality reusable clothing and household items for sale. They work in collaboration with United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) of the North Bay, supporting the organisation's efforts towards people with cerebral palsy and other disabilities, their families, and their communities.

This means that residents of Rohnert Park will have a new spot to recycle and exchange their used aluminium cans and bottles. The facility will be run by United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) of the North Bay, the store's owner, in collaboration with Zero Trash Sonoma, the county's waste management organisation.

The approval of the grant provided a chance for Rohnert Park to build a stand-alone site, which they have been working toward with Zero Waste Sonoma. The state's solid waste management organisation, CalRecycle, gave $1 million to Zero Waste Sonoma and UCP of the North Bay to support a trial project to set up and run small CRV facilities in underprivileged regions.

The Windsor Town Council last week authorised collaborating with UCP to create a new store in the town's Bluebird Center. Since then, they have built locations in Healdsburg and Sebastopol. The Rohnert Park site will be operational through 2026 during regular business hours.

The business will replace a privately run California Redemption Value, or CRV, facility that shut down in the CVS parking lot in 2020 as part of a wave of closures that also affected the rest of the state and Sonoma County, drastically reducing customer redemption locations in recent years.