April 15, 2009 > When it comes to recycling, once is never enough When it comes to recycling, once is never enough Submitted By Janis Flippen Since residents and staff at AlmaVia of Union City started a recycling program in March, they've seen a 25 percent reduction in waste. Each senior in the assisted living and dementia care community has a trash container and a recycle bag with instructions on what is and is not recyclable. To facilitate the process, AlmaVia designated containers for aluminum cans and plastic bottles. Residents have generated about $120 so far. The company has launched an educational effort to support the endeavor, including Al Gore's documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth;" a series of 12 videos by Bay Area cosmologist Brain Swimme, titled "Canticle to the Cosmos;" and a reading and discussion of "Earthspirit: A Handbook for Nurturing a Ecological Christianity" by Michael Dowd. In addition to recycling, some 25 residents made their voices heard by petitioning senators to support the Climate Security Act to reduce global warming. In December, AlmaVia began a pilot food scrap program as part of a citywide commercial program to be launched shortly. For more information, visit www.almavia.org or call (510) 489-3800.