Recycling Center First in World to Achieve Three Certifications

The Orange Coast College Recycling Center, already a LEED Gold certified building, has achieved SITES Gold and TRUE Zero Waste Platinum, making it the first project in the world to achieve all three certifications.

The three-acre project hosts a native plant garden with desert willow, Tecate cypress and California live oak trees, milkweed, black and white sage, California wild rose, fuchsia gooseberry, and more. The SITES project team says the public garden was designed to attract and protect native wildlife, including the declining monarch butterfly which depends on milkweed for the survival of its caterpillars.

A team member added that the project boasts a wide variety of environmental education opportunities and serves as a great example of how sustainable landscapes can enhance learning and the world around us.

The SITES project team at OCC was led by the OCC Recycling Center Sustainability Director, Mike Carey.

"The OCC Recycling Center has been a leader in Orange County's sustainability world for nearly five decades and we are extremely excited to be the first SITES v2 certified project in the State of California," said Rich Pagel, Vice President of Administrative Services of the SITES.

The Center hosted a plaque dedication ceremony on July 22. USGBC and GBCI President and CEO, Mahesh Ramanujam was on site to present the project with their SITES, LEED and TRUE plaques.