This week’s sobering news that the state may be facing another staggering budget deficit – reported to be nearly $21 billion – should be another indication that, much as we might wish it could, government just can’t do it all in times of shrinking public dollars.

That is why I’m so glad that Keep California Beautiful (KCB) is part of a highly successful public/private partnership that has provided millions of Californians the ability to do the right thing – recycle and keep trash away from our oceans, streams and waterways.

In fact, more than two years ago, KCB began an active and ongoing partnership with the California State Parks and the American Chemistry Council (ACC) that has placed, and continues to maintain, more than 500 seasonal and permanent recycle bins at more than 20 key beaches along California’s coast.

And the partnership keeps growing. The City of Los Angeles joined the effort last December, where, at the request of Councilman Bill Rosendahl, more recycling bins were placed in the community of Brentwood. The City of Woodland, ACC, and new private partners - including PG&E and the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation (operators of Cache Creek) - extended the program this fall, placing more than 20 bins in popular Woodland parks. In a new partnership with the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans), bins were placed at one of the most visited highway rest stops in California – overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. In 2010 we hope to extend this partnership with CalTrans so that travelers on our roads and highways also have a chance to do the right thing, even when they are away from home.

Recycling is one of the easiest actions we can all take to protect our state – and California’s recycling program is already one of the most successful in the nation. While we know that Californians want to recycle, there are fewer opportunities for them when they are away from home, in our parks or on our beaches. That is why this partnership is so important, and has been so successful.

In this tough fiscal climate, where our state’s social and environmental priorities have to compete with serious economic challenges, and when so many worthy programs are being cut, Keep California Beautiful is grateful for the alliance we share with a growing number of agencies, local governments and private corporations and businesses. We often hear that it is the goal of government to forge these kinds of relationships. Well, here is one that is working…and working well. We encourage other governmental, business and non-profit entities to try it, because the more public-private partnerships we can forge, the better off the state will be.