The campus’ recycling center is suffering from a loss of funding, said two Associated Students Inc. senators.
A state department gives ASI grants for the recycling center. However, Sen. Jameson Nyeholt of the College of Liberal Arts said state legislators took the money for the grants due to the state’s budget crisis.
“We rely a lot on that money to run the recycling center,” said Sen. Lucy Nguyen, of the College of Business Administration. “[The recycling center] makes just enough money … to run it.”
ASI President Chris Chavez said the situation got so bad that some were concerned the recycling center would go bankrupt.
“When the money for California dried up, there was a concern for how are we going to bridge the deficit problem with the recycling center,” Chavez said.
Nyeholt said state legislators passed Senate Bill 402 last year to restore the funding. However, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill on Oct. 11; that drew a rebuke from ASI in the form of a resolution on Dec. 2.
The result of the governor’s veto has been a series of lawsuits from corporations that used to receive funding for their recycling efforts.
Chavez said the state was “pretty much obliged to give that funding to make sure these centers are operational.”
Adding to the recycling center’s woes was the fact that its revenue went down “quite a bit” due to the recession, Chavez said. The commodities market for recyclables like aluminum and plastic weren’t as high as before.
While money may be sparse, Chavez said he doesn’t see ASI doing away with the recycling center due to an uptick in the commodities market and ASI’s values.
“We value the center. We were one of the first CSUs to have one, from what I understand,” Chavez said. “It’s important in our community.”