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Agency Update - Spring 2025

Waste Prevention Equipment Grant Recipients Selected

Twenty organizations in Alameda County have been selected to receive equipment grant funding totaling $248,000. The funding aims to strengthen our local food systems and reduce environmental impacts by supporting the transition from single-use disposable items to reusable systems across three categories:
 
Surplus Food Donation Equipment: Nine recipients will receive funding to purchase equipment that optimizes their food recovery operations while minimizing food waste. Examples of this equipment include cooling blankets to prevent spoilage during transport and freezers to extend the shelf life of perishable foods.
 
Reusable Foodware for Cafeterias: Funds will be used to roll out or expand reusable foodware in three different school districts: San Leandro Unified School District, Hayward Unified School District, and Emeryville Unified School District. Single-use items like plastic cutlery will be replaced with reusable steel and students will eat on reusable stainless trays instead of plastic or paper trays that are used for minutes before being discarded.
 
Reusable Transport Packaging: Eight recipients from various sectors, including agriculture, food service, retail, and others, will receive funding to transition to reusable transport packaging such as reusable pallets, heavy-duty bulk boxes, and reusable wraps to implement a circular, closed-loop system.
 
This year, we paused our competitive grants funding and focused specifically on equipment grants while we conduct a comprehensive evaluation of our Agency’s large-scale grants program. This review will help us better align our resources with our Agency's updated priorities and community needs for the next grant cycle in 2026. The Equipment grant application process will re-open soon for grants to be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis until all funds are utilized. Visit our website for updates.
 
Learn More About the Grantees

Building Healthy Soil in Alameda County

International Compost Awareness Week, observed May 4–10, provides a timely opportunity to highlight the growing momentum around composting and our efforts to improve soil health in Alameda County.
 
Last fall, our sponsored assembly bill AB 2346 was signed by the governor clearing the way for common sense adjustments that support our member agencies in meeting compost procurement requirements of SB 1383 through new avenues such as investing in communal compost distribution hubs. We launched our first compost hub in collaboration with the City of Alameda in the summer of 2022, and now we have a total of eight compost hubs across the county, offering community members access to free compost.
 
In addition to providing access to compost, we are committed to educating the community about its uses and benefits. We provide technical assistance to gardening and food-growing organizations, and in partnership with our collaborators, we host public gardening and compost workshops for all ages and experience levels.
 
View the Calendar of Events

Major Regulatory Advances for Recycling and Plastic Reduction in California

The chasing arrows symbol is a universally recognized symbol to indicate that an item is potentially recyclable. However, until 2021 California did not have a set standard or criteria for the use of this symbol giving free rein to manufacturers and producers for its use which creates confusion among consumers as to what is recyclable. In a move toward truth in labeling, CalRecycle has released its “recyclability” determinations under SB 343. Manufacturers using packaging that didn't meet the collection and sorting requirements on this list now have 18 months to stop making any recyclability claims and stop using the chasing arrows symbol in California. This newly defined standard is a major step towards ending greenwashing and restoring consumer trust in recycling labels to ultimately increasing recycling in the state.
 
Building on momentum that began more than three decades ago with the City of Berkeley’s local Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) ban in 1988, EPS foodware—including containers, cups, and place—is now banned from being sold, distributed, or imported in or into California. The ban stems from the requirements set under SB 54 where producers were required to demonstrate that their materials meet a 25% recycling rate by the January 1, 2025 deadline. EPS did not meet the requirements.
 
We're optimistic that see brands, producers, and retailers to rethink packaging and move away from single-use toward circular solutions.
 
Learn More About SB 54

Employee Spotlight

Cristian Aguilar

Program Services Specialist

Cristian Aguilar joined StopWaste in 2015 as part of the Schools Team field trip program and is currently a Program Services Specialist. He is a long-time educator in his hometown Oakland centered around justice, community organizing, and volunteering. Cristian attended San Francisco State University and Peralta Community Colleges for Ethnic Studies and Media Communications. He is an award-winning documentary film maker with a specialization in testimonio documentaries.
 
What do you do at StopWaste?
I am part of the amazing StopWaste Schools team, and I get the privilege to laugh, learn, play, and talk trash with students and educators through our K-12 in-class program as well as through our prominent award-winning free 4th grade field trip program to our education centers located at two of our local transfer stations.
 
How did you start your career in sustainability?
One day I noticed a lot of recycling flyers posted around the school I was working at, and I asked about them. That’s when one of my 4th grade students told me about her recent field trip to the Davis Street Transfer Station with StopWaste. My student, Eileen, returned motivated by the field trip and said, “Mr.Cristian, I want to help the younger kids sort in the cafeteria.” So, I helped her establish the school’s green team. That forever stayed with me—that a field trip inspired change. Our school had already implemented food waste prevention strategies like food share, which I also practiced at home so, I was familiar with sustainable practices and concepts but hadn’t learned them through a formal education setting. That’s just how I was raised—being resourceful. If there was ever extra food and it was still good to eat, I felt bad throwing it away, so I’d share with others before letting it go to waste. At the time, I wasn’t knowledgeable about recycling or compost and never would have thought I’d be working in the waste industry. It’s really cool how intersectional it can be. Waste it a part of everyday life and there are many ways to connect with people and their interests.
 
How has working at StopWaste impacted you?
It's had a profound impact on my journey. I’m consistently in awe of the magic of young people, and that I receive so much from it. It really fills me with joy to hold space for young people to advocate for the things that they feel are important. Also, being part of Angelina’s team has given me a lot of space to grow, learn, and lean into my skills and work on my challenges. Working at StopWaste has impacted a lot on how I see the world through my work lens. I’m able to use my lived experience and my work lens to build relationships with people in this field. Wherever I go, I find myself looking in garbage bins and checking out what their sorting system is like.