MALIBU—The city of Malibu is partnering with Sustainable Surf, Marko Foam and Access document shredding service for public recycling opportunities throughout the month of November to celebrate America Recycles Day, a national call to action to reduce, reuse and recycle waste, on November 15.

According to a press release from the city’s website, they will be initiating a new outreach program using standardized logos to make it easier to recycle at all city facilities.

“America Recycles Day is all about inspiring the community to join in the effort to reduce, reuse and recycle, which supports Malibu’s core mission to protect our natural environment,” said Mayor Skylar Peak. “The City offers residents many opportunities throughout the year to recycle materials that can be particularly harmful to the environment like electronics and household chemicals, or that require special handling such as personal documents. We also have year-round environmental education and outreach programs. The screening of the environmental documentary ‘STRAWS’ is a great example how the City is striving to inspire every citizen and business to join our environmental mission.”

Waste to Waves Polystyrene Foam Recycling Collection

From November 1 thru November 30, Malibu residents can drop off polystyrene foam in the upper parking lot of City Hall (23825 Stuart Ranch Road) Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The foam will be collected and recycled by the environmental non-profit organization(s) Sustainable Surf and Marko Foam Inc. Some material will be recycled into surfboard blanks to create eco-friendly surfboards as part of the Waste to Waves project. www.MalibuCity.org/RecycleFoam.

Close to 13 billion pounds of styrene were produced in the United States in 2006, most was used in manufacturing polystyrene foam. When not properly recycled, polystyrene foam ends up in landfills, and can take hundreds of years to break down. In the ocean, it contributes to ocean pollution that damages wildlife and ecosystems.

Sustainable Surf’s Waste to Waves program was launched in 2011 by co-founder Kewin Whilden, who estimates that they have recycled over 50,000 pounds of polystyrene foam. Twenty pounds of foam can be recycled into 20 Marko Foam surfboard cores, which have 25 percent recycled content. Sustainable Surf and Marko Foam have enlisted notable board shapers and professional surfers to promote the performance and sustainability of the eco-boards.

Free Secure Document Shredding

Malibu residents are able to discard paper documents to be securely shredded and recycled for free by Access on Saturday, November 18 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the upper parking lot of City Hall. Secure paper document shredding by Access is an effective way to prevent identity theft while recycling paper. www.MalibuCity.org/Shredding.  The Malibu City Council will proclaim November 15 as America Recycles day during the city council meeting on Monday, November 13 at City Hall. The Environmental Sustainability Department will deliver a presentation about recycling, plastic pollution, and discuss future opportunities for the City to promote waste reduction.

A screening for the film “STRAWS,” a movie about reducing plastic waste will be held to educate on the importance of recycling and reduction of waste on Thursday, November 30 at 7:00 p.m. in the Civic Theater. The city is co-hosting the screening with the local non-profit Crayon Collection, who collects lightly used crayons to halt them from going to landfills and gives them to underserved schools as part of their free art education program.

The movie highlights the environmental destruction caused by plastic pollution and how stopping use of plastic drinking straws is an effective way to reduce plastic pollution. The film will be followed by a panel discussion with the filmmaker Linda Booker.

Malibu’s ongoing public recycling and collection events for batteries, electronic waste, household hazardous waste (HHW), and polystyrene foam have allowed it to deliver on a top environmental goal: overall waste reduction. In 2016, the city of Malibu recycled over 325 tons of bottles, cans, paper, and electronic waste.

Malibu has policies to make its own operations greener and is working on ways to expand such efforts. This includes transitioning to digital files, implementing an integrated pest management policy, and installing water bottle filling stations. The city has long instituted an environmentally friendly purchasing policy that requires among other things that supplies have recycled content whenever possible. The region is also decreasing emissions of greenhouse gases by using a hybrid and electric vehicles and installing electric charging stations for City vehicles and public use. The city of Malibu has led the way on the first adoption of citywide bans on plastic bags and polystyrene foam.