LOS ANGELES, Jan. 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Once again demonstrating leadership and innovation, several Los Angeles organizations were singled out by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), which is issuing $9.4 million as part of its Food Waste Prevention and Rescue Grant Program Awards. Grant recipients include a number of LA-based organizations, including organizations working with recycLA service providers to increase food recovery in the City of Los Angeles.

As part of the City's new recycLA program, service providers work with local food rescue nonprofits to divert edible food from landfills and into the hands of people who need it. Several of the organizations working with recycLA service providers have been selected by CalRecycle to receive grants to continue their work in reducing food waste, including Food Finders, Food Forward, LA Kitchen, and St. Francis Center. Other food rescue groups working with recycLA service providers are Waste Not Want Not Now and World Harvest Food Bank. With over one million people in Los Angeles County suffering from food insecurity, these partnerships with local nonprofits are an ethical and environmental necessity.

"There are an estimated 50,000 people homeless in Los Angeles alone, so need to recover and divert food is more important than ever. Food is a recyclable resource that should not and need not be wasted," said Commissioner Heather Marie Repenning, Vice President of the Board. "We're proud to be working with organizations that are assisting in getting edible food to individuals experiencing food insecurity throughout the City." Last year, the Los Angeles Board of Public Works (BPW) voted unanimously to establish a Zero Food Waste Task Force to work with various City agencies and recycLA service providers to explore and promote opportunities in Los Angeles to reduce food waste, increase the amount of recyclable resources and create clean, renewable energy.

"We are thrilled to hear that organizations working directly with recycLA service providers have been recognized by CalRecycle for their exemplary work," said Enrique C. Zaldivar, LA Sanitation Director and General Manager. "While recycling will help our City move towards achieving zero waste, food waste also plays a critical role in reducing our dependence on landfills and tackling food insecurity. In cooperation with these organizations, we are on the pathway to getting food to those who really need it most and to reducing the City's dependence on landfills."

LA Sanitation is currently undertaking an unprecedented expansion of its recycling services beyond single family residences to include 80,000 commercial and apartment buildings through its new program, called "recycLA." This innovative program is a public-private partnership that will eliminate the city's dependence on landfills and position Los Angeles as the first big city in the nation to achieve zero waste by 2025. Each of the seven service providers have established Food Rescue Programs that will assist in the collection ("rescue") of edible food, fit for human consumption, and to create or develop the necessary network for delivering the food to those who need it the most.

CalRecycle administers the Food Waste Prevention and Rescue Grant Program, a competitive grant program that aims to lower overall greenhouse gas emissions by establishing new or expanding existing food waste prevention projects (source reduction or food rescue for people) in California to reduce the amount of food being disposed in landfills.

For more information about the recycLA Food Rescue and Materials Reuse Programs, please visit www.lacitysan.org.

About L.A. City Department of Public Works
The Department of Public Works is comprised of five bureaus: Contract Administration, Engineering, Sanitation, Street Lighting, and Street Services, as well as the Offices of the Board, including the Offices of Community Beautification, Filming and Petroleum Administration.  More than 5,500 employees are responsible for design, construction, renovation and operation of public projects ranging from bridges to wastewater treatment plants and libraries; curbside collection and graffiti removal; and maintenance of streets, sidewalks, sewers, streetlights and street trees.

The Department is governed by the Board of Public Works (BPW), a five-member full-time executive team that is committed to delivering projects and programs that enhance quality of life, economic growth, public health and the environment to all Angelenos.

For more information, please visit http://bpw.lacity.org.

About Los Angeles Sanitation
As the lead agency for the City's environmental programs and initiatives, LA Sanitation protects public health and the environment through the administration and management of three program areas: Clean Water (Wastewater), Solid Resources (Solid Waste Management) and Watershed Protection (Stormwater). These infrastructure programs collect, treat, recycle, and dispose the solid and liquid waste generated by the nation's second largest city of more than four million residents. Through these essential public service programs, LA Sanitation delivers a triple bottom line of economic, environmental, and social benefits that sustain the quality of life in Los Angeles. For more information, please visit www.lacitysan.org.

SOURCE LA Sanitation

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