The Parents Faculty Club of the Ripon Unified School District can expect to receive about $10,000 this year from the recycling center.

That figure is down compared to previous years, said Public Works Director James Pease at the Oct. 13 Ripon City Council meeting.

Part of the reason was the low price of cardboard. “The price was $0 a ton in September 2019 but moved up to the current price of $35 a ton,” he said in his report.

The City of Ripon along with RUSD and American Recycling are part of the program that operates through a combination of PFC volunteers and limited City personnel.

Students at Weston, Ripon, Ripona, Park View, and Colony Oak elementary schools are the ones who benefit – RUSD gets the claiming credit for the recycling content, which is distributed evenly among each of the schools, according to Pease.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the recycling center at 227 S. Industrial Ave. cut downs hours of operation and number of days.

“That changed the quantity, making it about 40 to 50 percent below the usual level,” Pease added.

Councilman Leo Zuber said that the $10,000 from cardboard is low. He mentioned that plans to increase the hours of operation at the recycling center is being discussed.

“Last year, CRV brought in $14,000,” said Zuber.

As of Aug. 1, the recycling center was open Mondays and Wednesdays, from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and Saturdays, 8 a.m. to noon.

Safety protocols such as social distancing is required.

The recycling center is available only to Ripon residents.

For more information, log on to www.cityofripon.org.