GOOD `OPERATION'; RECYCLING CREW HELPS HOSPITAL MEET GOALS.

Byline: Donna Huffaker Staff Writer

Bending waist-deep into a 4-foot-high recycling bin, Alfred Alderete made every effort to grab the last scraps of computer paper.

The 29-year-old developmentally disabled employee at Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center smiled as he tossed the crinkled data sheets into the cart and wheeled it down the hall.

Such dedication not only helps the Alhambra resident and two other disabled people earn a paycheck, it's putting a big dent in the hospital's waste reduction goals.

``I keep busy. I feel comfortable here. The people are nice,'' Alderete said this week during his hospital rounds.

``Operation Recycle'' has reduced landfill waste by an estimated 15 tons a month, said program supervisor Ray Flores.

Before the program began, program officials said, more than 75 percent of recyclable items at the hospital were pitched right into the trash. The disabled Operation Recycle crew is helping reduce landfill waste and saving trees, he said.

Begun on June 14, the program is a joint effort of the hospital's environmental services department and City Community Services, a nonprofit organization in La Canada Flintridge that places people with disabilities into the work force.

Chuk Reed, a job coach for City Community Services, oversees the Operation Recycle crew. He prefers to manage them by stepping back and allowing them to go about their daily routine, he said this week as Mario Novoa crushed boxes on a loading dock nearby.

It makes them more independent, he said.

Novoa, 34, of Glendale, takes the bus to and from work Monday through Friday. Until the hospital employed Novoa, it took about two weeks to accumulate a bale of boxes that employees turned in, Reed said. Novoa moves a bale a day by going to every floor and every room in the hospital to collect every available box.

``They all work so hard. I have no complaints,'' Reed said. ``It's difficult sometimes to get them to stop, even for lunch.''

Recycling attendants Novoa, Alderete and 25-year-old Stella Vardanyan work five days a week from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Reed said - a far cry from the one-day-a-week shifts Alderete used to work at a fast-food restaurant or the hours Vardanyan spent on her couch out of sheer boredom, Reed said.

Another positive aspect of the program is that it shows people in a variety of professions that individuals with disabilities can work and be tax-paying members of society, Reed said.

But Vardanyan doesn't think about all that.

She concentrates on the bottles that need to be collected, the bins that need to be emptied and the offices that haven't been checked.

``It's fun. I like it,'' she said, sweat beading above her lip.

Because the recycling attendants frequent the loading dock area of the hospital, they often work alongside maintenance workers.

``They never stop. They're all the time in their area working hard. If I was their supervisor I'd give them a perfect evaluation,'' said employee Jonas Barrera.

To that compliment, Novoa smiled. No time to relish in the kudos, though. He had boxes to crush.

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2 Photos

Photo: (1) Alfred Alderete, 29, digs deep into a recycling bin on his route at Glendale Memorial Hospital.

(2) Alfred Alderete sorts boxes on the job at Glendale Memorial Hospital. The hospital's ``Operation Recycle,'' has reduced landfill waste by an estimated 15 tons a month.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer