A pair of different recycling efforts hosted for Escalon residents on Saturday proved to be successful, with both an electronics and a mattress collection staged at the city’s Community Center.

Onsite Electronics Recycling crews were on hand to collect microwaves, TVs, answering machines, printers, copiers and the like, and had already filled half a tractor trailer by 11:30 a.m.

Helping residents unload the e-waste discards were Rufino Perez, Jonathan Hilliard, Miguel Pineda and Luis Contreras of Onsite Recycling. The firm, in cooperation with the city, is in Escalon four times a year for the collection. The next one will be in October; two of the collection dates are Saturdays and two are Sundays, aiming to provide a chance for all residents to get to one of the recycling events during the year.

Also, the Greater Valley Conservation Corps, in cooperation with the San Joaquin County Office of Education, was on hand for a mattress recycling event, collecting old mattresses and box springs.

“Last year we were doing tires,” said crew leader Alex Duarte of the county office of education. “This year we are doing mattresses.”

By late morning, they had collected more than two dozen mattresses, all of which will be recycled.

“The wood and the springs get repurposed,” Duarte explained.

Crew members assisting with the mattress recycling are part of the Greater Valley Conservation Corps, which is a subsidiary of the SJCOE.

“I look at it as a mentorship program,” added Duarte. “They are getting on the job training.”

Greater Valley works with youth, ages 18 to 25, in the Comeback Kids program and also partner with the Building Futures Academy for San Joaquin County, helping them complete their high school education and gain work experience, hopefully leading to regular employment.