Thursday, March 1st marked the first day of service for West Valley Collection & Recycling, the new solid waste services provider for Los Gatos, Campbell, Saratoga, and Monte Sereno. The two organizations that make up West Valley, GreenWaste Recovery and GreenTeam of San Jose, have been providing services in the Santa Clara Valley since 1992. The companies focus on consistently providing efficient, creative, and innovative approaches to collection and recycling.

As with the beginning of any new enterprise, there were some hiccups on the first day of service. But thanks to extensive pre-planning on the part of West Valley and the four cities, problems were minimized. Route supervisors provided roaming oversight of each route and a command center was set up in the main office to track the regular progress reports provided by drivers and supervisors. In addition, phone lines for customer service calls were quadrupled thanks to quick and cooperative work by West Valley and AT&T.

West Valley reports that residents are happy with the new, fully-automated service, and with the ability to place all recyclable materials in one container. Remember: Do not use your recycle tubs any longer. A series of four community meetings was held before the transition, and many residents attended to ask questions, give feedback, and get information.

For all its residential customers, West Valley suggests the following tips to make their weekly collection go as smoothly as possible:

• Place your garbage, recycling, and yard waste carts side-by-side in the street, with wheels facing the curb, about two feet apart. Carts should be at least five feet away from anything that may block the collection truck, such as parked cars, trees, or basketball hoops.

• You have received a new grey-brown cart for your garbage. If you have an old green or grey cart that you rented or purchased from Green Valley Disposal Company, please do not use it. Green Valley will arrange to collect it from you. If you have a metal or plastic garbage can that you purchased on your own, please do not use it at the curb any longer. You may use it for storage or around the house if you wish. In April you will receive a sticker from West Valley that says “Recycle Me” – if you do not want to keep your can, put a sticker on it and set it out at the curb for recycling.

• You have received a new blue cart for all of your recyclables. If you have the old set of three tubs for sorting recyclables, please do not use them at the curb any longer. They are yours to keep if you wish, to use for storage or around the house. In April you will receive a sticker from West Valley that says “Recycle Me” – if you do not want to keep your bins, put a sticker on them and set them out at the curb for recycling.

• All recyclables should be inside your blue recycling cart. Please break down cardboard boxes and place them inside the cart.

• You may have received a new green cart for your yard waste. If you have an old dark brown yard waste cart from Green Valley Disposal Company, please continue to use it at the curb. It will not be collected from you. You may use either the old dark brown yard waste carts or the new green carts for yard waste. Do not use any cans for your yard waste and make sure all your yard waste is inside the yard waste cart(s).

West Valley will continue the popular Annual Cleanup program. More information will be sent to residents in their quarterly billing statements and posted on West Valley’s website, www.westvalleyrecycles.com.

More information about all of West Valley’s services, including a full list of recyclable materials, is available on our website www.westvalleyrecycles.com. For more information please call customer service at (408) 283-9250.