Malibu Celebrates Earth Month

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Westside Boards Koozies Made From Recycled Wetsuits

Though many Malibu residents would prefer to celebrate Earth Day every day, April has been set aside nationally as “Earth Month,” and the City of Malibu has stepped up efforts to “go green.”

April 2015 is the 45th anniversary of the first Earth Day, and Malibu is celebrating with a document shredding day, a polystyrene foam collection, used wetsuit collection and a day-long Earth Day Celebration, which also includes a collection for hazardous waste such as old electronics and oil and paint.

“I was involved in the very first Earth Day at Yale University in April of 1970,” said Mayor John Sibert at the March 23 City Council meeting, “and there’ve been more and more people involved, which is good.”

Sibert presented a proclamation declaring March 28 through April 30 Earth Month, “a month-long celebration of the earth’s natural resources.”

Community Document Shredding Day is set to take place on April 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the City Hall upper parking lot, where residents are invited to bring in up to 25 boxes of papers to be shred and recycled, free of charge.

In conjunction with Certified Green Business Westside Boards, the City of Malibu will have a collection bin to receive donations of neoprene wetsuits to be repurposed into recycled products.

Westside Boards makes surf-inspired furniture and repurposes wetsuits into wallets, beverage koozies and other accessories. The eco-friendly company also uses reclaimed wood to create the handplanes and seals the handcrafted boards with a non-toxic, water-based finish.

Drop off old and used wetsuits in the “Waste to Waves” bin, available in the upper parking lot area at Malibu City Hall from now through April 18, during regular business hours.

Running alongside the wetsuit collection is a collection for polystyrene foam, which will be recycled by Waste to Waves into surfboards.

Waste to Waves, a program from Southern California nonprofit Sustainable Surf, collects clean, white #6 foam, the kind that comes with new TVs and computers, and turns it into sustainable boards.

The free Earth Day Celebration at Malibu City Hall on April 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. includes giveaways and raffle prizes as well as educational booths and farm animals. There will also be a collection for hazardous waste such as unwanted electronics, household batteries and fluorescent light bulbs, as well as water-based paint, automotive batteries and fluids.

“I am proud that the City continues to celebrate this tradition 45 years later, not only this month, but on a daily basis through our cutting-edge environmental projects, educational opportunities and recycling events that empower our residents and visitors to be environmental stewards,” Sibert said in a statement from the City.