Each year, Sempra Energy and its employees recycle:

• more than 800 tons of paper and cardboard;

• more than 3 million pounds of scrap electrical cable;

• more than 2 million pounds of scrap steel;

• more than 1,000 wooden reels (for storing electrical cable), equal to more than 200,000 pounds of wood waste; and

• a wide range of other materials, including computers, printer cartridges, office furniture, carpeting, bottles and cans.

Recycling means new life for already-used materials like paper, steel and electrical equipment. This reduces the amount of materials sent to landfills for disposal and it helps conserve energy.

The amount of energy used to recycle materials like paper and metals is much lower than the amount of energy most often needed to produce those same materials from virgin sources.

Awards
Sempra Energy's headquarters is in San Diego, Calif. Both the city of San Diego and the state of California have given Sempra Energy companies major awards for recycling:

• For three years in a row, California's Environmental Protection Agency gave Southern California Gas Co. a Waste Reduction Award Program (WRAP) honor for recycling and waste reduction.
   
• The city of San Diego's Environmental Services Department named Sempra Energy as one of San Diego's top recyclers and, as a result, our company received a California WRAP award.