California Environmental News

State Funds $328,500 Recycling Business Loan For Modesto Sand & Gravel

"Construction and demolition waste makes up a significant portion of our waste stream," said Waste Board Chair Linda Moulton-Patterson. "This loan will help Stanislaus County and its communities to keep a valuable resource out of the landfill by creating a new product useful as road building material in other building projects. We congratulate Modesto Sand & Gravel for reducing California’s waste and expanding its business at the same time--an environmental win-win."

The company will crush recovered concrete, bricks, asphalt, roof tiles, gravel, and cinderblock from commercial and residential improvement projects, screening the material to manufacture a 3/4-inch aggregate base with sand as a by-product. The material is sold to construction, concrete, and landscape companies. Funds from the recycling business loan program will allow Modesto Sand & Gravel Products, Inc. to expand its operations into Sacramento County, buy new equipment, and pay off debt on another equipment loan to improve cash flow. The company will also divert additional material from California landfills. Currently, the company diverts 100,000 tons per year of construction and demolition material and provides seven jobs. With the Waste Board business recycling loan, the company projects it will add up to four new jobs to the local economy and increase recycling by 50,000 tons per year.

Modesto Sand & Gravel Products, Inc. was started in March 1990 by Walter and Francis Kellstrom to recycle road and building materials that were previously being hauled to landfills for disposal. The company was started as an offshoot of the owners’ demolition company, Modesto Sand & Gravel, when they saw an opportunity to convert the waste concrete, asphalt, and other building materials into a usable product for which there is a market.

Diversion of reusable materials from California landfills is an essential element of the success cities and counties statewide are achieving as part of an overall effort to cut in half the amount of trash the state disposes. Currently, California diverts 42 percent of its solid waste away from disposal, one of the most ambitious environmental protection accomplishments in the nation.

Creating opportunities for recycling-based businesses and markets to flourish in California is a high priority for the state, and that priority is making a significant difference to the environment and the economy. The Waste Board awards the low-interest RMDZ loans statewide to promote better recycling technologies and business development. The loans help create jobs and benefit the environment by keeping recyclable materials out of landfills.

The RMDZ program fosters manufacturing of new products from recycled feedstock materials, and also serves business projects designed to reduce the waste that results from manufacturing. The current fixed interest rate on RMDZ loans is 5.7 percent. Loans are available to finance up to 75 percent of project costs, or a maximum of $2 million, whichever is less. RMDZ loans may be used as working capital or to acquire equipment, for making leasehold improvements, or to acquire commercial real estate.

Eligible loan applicants must be located within one of California’s 40 Recycling Market Development Zones, geographic areas designated by the Waste Board and covering much of the state from the Oregon border to San Diego. Depending upon the region, the RMDZ program may also include incentives or assistance from local governments, such as expedited permit processing, reduced fees, or job training

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	Did You Know?
	Pathogens are microorganisms that can cause disease They may be bacteria, viruses, or parasites and are found in sewage, in runoff from animal farms or rural areas populated with domestic and/or wild animals, and in water used for swimming. Fish and shellfish contaminated by pathogens, or the contaminated water itself, can cause serious illnesses.