BINDERS THAT TIE: NEW RMO EMPLOYEE CLEANS UP OFFICE, HELPS L.A. SCHOOL DISTRICT TOO

In Los Angeles the Corps of Engineers has taken recycling to the next level.

Recently the Resource Management Office destroyed more than 2,000 pounds of obsolete material. The project used a nearby facility and minimized the cost. And in a benevolent twist, the document destruction led to a windfall for Los Angeles schools.
Jon Christy, RMO’s Administrative Assistant and a new employee, looked around his new digs on the 12th floor and immediately saw that a gigantic cleanup was needed.

While digging through file cabinets and desks, he found numerous outdated publications—most more than 10 years old--yellowed Time and Attendance records and other documents that included Privacy Act Information. Christy knew those materials had to be protected, and he located a government facility at Edwards Air Force Base where they could be taken and disintegrated. Next he requisitioned a GSA vehicle, and with the help of co-workers, transported the material in three trips. Out at Edwards, they destroyed all the institutional clutter safely and fast.

Cost to the Corps:
-- three days use of a government vehicle $54;
-- gasoline $100;
-- labor and time about 24 hours total. Using an outside contractor would have cost more than $500.
And here’s the twist. All those documents had been stored in binders—old, outdated, only in fair condition but usable. Christy connected the dots and realized that the Los Angeles School District—always in need of donations--could use them. He contacted Jesse Guttierrez (head of the school district’s salvage and recycle facility) and then dropped off more than 100 binders for students, teachers and administrators.

Christy explained why he thought recycling the binders to area schools was a worthwhile project: “ I believe in striving for a paperless office, and although a completely paperless office is futile, I know there are areas where we all can look at improve and remove outdated and superseded material. In today’s society we have online publications that nearly eliminate having a hard copy in the office. Additionally, if we stick to the guidelines for document retention, we can remove a great deal of clutter while maintaining our records in a professional manner.”