Orange Coast College debuted its new recycling center Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The roughly $7.5-million facility on the Costa Mesa campus鈥檚 northern edge, off Adams Avenue, occupies about 5 acres, making it much larger than its 1-acre predecessor.
It also has classrooms, offices, a conference room, a first aid room, men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 showers, a cleaning area and 45 parking spaces, up from eight before.
Construction took 16 months.
OCC has had a recycling program for more than 45 years that draws people from around the region. It accepts materials such as aluminum cans, plastic bottles, newspapers and scrap metal.
It also accepts electronic waste such as televisions, computer monitors and fax machines, along with cooking oil, household batteries and fluorescent light tubes.
It does not accept furniture, auto or marine batteries, used motor oil, paint, chemicals or hazardous waste.
OCC President Dennis Harkins said the recycling center represents 鈥渄ecades of commitment鈥� to the community and has provided thousands of jobs, mostly for students, for decades.
Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley called the facility 鈥渁n economic driver鈥� for the city.
The recycling center鈥檚 new administrative building uses solar panels and has eco-friendly materials, such as solar tubes for indoor lighting. OCC officials are seeking to get various energy-efficient certifications for the facility.
For Michael 鈥淩ecycle鈥� Carey, OCC鈥檚 environmental and sustainability coordinator, seeing the new digs was a dream come true.
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