SF Recycling & Disposal

This was a fantastic field trip for kids and adults of all ages. Eye-opening and informative- and certainly having an artist-in-residence at the facility is one of a kind! (Paul is having a carnival-themed art showcase on May 23rd & 24th!) The powerpoint presentation at the beginning of the tour gave interesting facts. SF pays $8m a month (correct me if my memory disserves me) to have its waste sent to the Altamont Landfill in Livermore. Big 'pot-belly' trucks make a hundred trips a day! I was just driving alongside one yesterday, going over the Bay Bridge to the airport. Then I passed the facility and saw all of the sea gulls. I'll never look at those sea gulls the same! Sure, I used to associate the birds I've seen there for years with the bay, but now I know the ones I see in the water are just taking a break- their gullets full of trash! These birds (in obscene numbers) voraciously rummage through the garbage. Really a sight to be seen and smelled. (not with a hangover, I advise) At first I thought it harmless that the birds retrieve foodstuff from the garbage, but the truth is that they often eat small bits of styrofoam, obviously unhealthy. The woman heading the tour (and the artist program,) Diane, said they were trying to prevent the birds from accumulating- but it's hard to see how that would be possible! The most surprising part of the tour was the gorgeous sculpture garden- a miracle in the middle of the dump. Just steps away from the stenchy, sea gull free-for-all, up on the hill, is a garden filled with beautiful landscaping and art made from recycled waste by the residential artists. Really a pleasure. You could have a picnic there and easily forget about the trash just yards away! I'm so happy they created such a peaceful sanctuary. SF Solid Waste Transfer and Recycling Center is a model for all dumps. I mean, 'transfer stations.'
I was curious how the facilities in the East Bay would compare. Alameda County has a wonderful website http://www.stopwaste.org/ and they have goals similar to SF- to reduce waste going to the landfills by 75% by 2010. The Davis Street Transfer station in San Leandro is having an early Earth Day celebration filled with fun and education on April 12 from 10a-2p. (not sure if they have an art program, but their education center was constructed using green building methods- yay!)
Check it out on the website- see you there! :)