“Long before the term ‘green jobs’ was a household phrase, Richard Valle built a thriving business that benefits the environment and provides job opportunities for young people and other workers who face many challenges in securing employment.”
– James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award, 2009
About Tri-CED Community Recycling
Tri-CED Community Recycling is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation founded in 1980 as a community-based recycling organization located in a state-of-the-art urban waste processing facility in Union City, California. Tri-CED’s mission is to reduce the waste stream, employ disadvantaged youth and adults, and share residual proceeds with the community. Tri-CED forms partnerships with community-based organizations, schools, teachers, and faith-based organizations to promote source reduction, recycling collection, compost creation, and community education programs designed to reduce waste and raise awareness about our environment.
For the past 25 years, Tri-CED has been recycling urban household waste and yard waste and managing a buy-back recycling center under contracts with the Cities of Union City and Hayward. The direct benefits to the community and the culture of Tri-CED’s recycling activities are enhanced by employment and job training opportunities for low-income residents of the community, undertaken in partnership with the Alameda County Workforce Investment Board (WIB), the Alameda County Title IV-E Waiver funded Highway to Work program, and the California Gang Reduction, Intervention, and Prevention program, funded by the Governor’s Discretionary Workforce Investment Act. Tri-CED is the largest community-based recycling operation in California and is looking to expand its presence in the community through increased partnerships with youth services and social service providers, as well as with local K-12 school districts and higher education institutions.
Facts About Tri-CED
- Tri-CED’s single-stream collection of recycled material simplified recycling for community residents and increased the amount of recycled material recovered, resulting in the achievement of 75% diversion of our solid waste stream.
- Tri-CED’s uses compressed natural gas (CNG) collection vehicles that reduce air pollution and improves the environment.
- Tri-CED provides employment primarily to hard-to-employ local residents who are thereby able to earn a living wage and to become productive tax-paying citizens of our community. Over 1,500 young people have been through Tri-CED’s employment programs. The individuals hired most often come to us without any prior training or work experience. We ensure they are given the opportunity and the resources necessary to learn and become productive employees who are no longer a burden on society.
- Tri-CED has a strong working relationship with the City, City-sponsored programs, other community-based social service organizations, and with the business community. We are an active participant in many community activities and supports other community-based organizations with partnership, financial donations, and volunteer involvement.
Our History
Tri-CED was formed in 1980 by Bert Perez, Frank Roesch, Richard Valle and several other members of the Union City community and other volunteers from the Tri-CED board of directors. Volunteers started by collecting aluminum cans, glass bottles, newspaper and cardboard at a small buy-back recycling center located under a Pepper tree at the Union City Youth Program on Mission Boulevard. Tri-CED also began picking up recyclables at churches and schools in Union City and eventually was able to secure a location on Central Avenue in Union City for its buy-back operations. In 1992 Tri-CED moved to its current location at Western Avenue. The current site (4.5 acres) is now an asset of Tri-CED.
Tri-CED received its first grant for $750 from Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church in 1980. The money was used to buy a beam-scale that was used to weigh the recyclables. Since then, Tri-CED has worked with the California Pollution Control Financing Authority (CPCFA) to help finance expansion activities and contractual obligations. Special thanks to Mr. Bruce Groulx for his work with Tri-CED during the early years when the organization was creating opportunities in Union City and Hayward.