Ventura County's Recycling Market Development Zone Program

The County of Ventura, along with its ten cities, is a state-designated Recycling Market Development Zone (RMDZ). The purpose of the RMDZ is to help create local markets for the processing, manufacturing, and marketing of products made from recycled materials. Businesses are eligible for a variety of state and local incentives and assistance if they use recycled or reused materials to make products, or if they can make their products out of less material than they did previously. Incentives include:

• Low Interest Loans and Other Assistance with Financing – The RMDZ can finance up to 75% of a project, up to $2 million per loan. Loan terms are up to 15 years, and the low interest rates are from fixed-rate State funds. Rates are kept at or below the prime rate
  
  
• Permit Assistance - public agencies will assist businesses through local and state permitting and regulatory processes.
  
  
• Location Assistance - businesses will be guided to over 12,000 acres of industrially zoned property, and other sites, throughout Ventura County.
  
  
• Materials for Manufacturing - Ventura County recycles over 200,000 tons of solid waste per year. Recyclables are collected through curbside, buyback, and drop-off programs and are processed in four main locations.
  
  
• Other Benefits - include business plan assistance, business incubator and industry cluster networks, promotion, capital network access, and financing assistance.
  
  
• Who's Eligible - Most of the incentives are designed specifically for manufacturing businesses located in Ventura County. If a business manufacturers a new product out of recycled materials, processes recyclables in such a way that their market value is increased, repairs items that would otherwise become waste, or makes products using less materials or while generating less waste, it may be eligible for low-interest loans.

For more information, see http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/RMDZ/Ventura

Contact Person:
David Goldstein
805/658-4312
david.goldstein@ventura.org