In a recent tour through the recycling and waste transfer station at Pier 96 in San Francisco, I had the opportunity to take a look at another side of civilization and uncover its waste. Back in the 1950's Life Magazine dubbed America as a throwaway society, a moniker that could be as relevant today as it was over 55 years ago. In fact, we have gone over and beyond to truly live up to this name, turning virtually every element of our society as a disposable commodity.
Without the understanding of waste, where it goes and how it effects our current and future home - it is impossible to feel responsible for what happens when we throw something away. In my article Where does your Waste go? I highlight critical information to help better equip people with the basic information on how they can reduce their waste statistic of, Americans creating 4.6 lbs. per day.
California has been touted as having some of the strictest recycling and waste laws in the country with San Francisco leading the way for the rest of the country. Here, the three bin system is designed for efficiency and clarity with black bins for landfill waste, green for compostables/yard waste and blue for recyclables. Trucks picking up all bins end up at Pier 96, the local material recovery facility or MRF where all recycling is separated, trash and compostables are re-routed. Last month, I reported to you about San Francisco mandating composting in the article San Francisco getting Green(er), where I mention the city's lofty and admirable goals of reaching zero-waste by 2020.
So where does trash go when it is magically picked up off of our curbs and whisked off to never been seen or smelled again? In San Francisco, it is taken to Pier 96, a transfer station where it is dropped off and later placed on a long haul truck and sent off to the landfill 60 miles east of the city.
Generally, landfills or dumps have been the traditional way of waste collection, the problem is that waste is being produced at surmountable rates and landfills around the world are reaching full capacity - causing cities to truck and rail their waste across state and international borders. Contrary to popular belief, garbage in landfills does not decompose, instead it stays intact, emphasizing the need to compost and recycle all waste prior to sending it to a landfill.
In addition, landfills create carbon dioxide and methane – two types of greenhouse gases known for their destructive properties on our eco-systems, the atmosphere, and our health. Moreover there is a risk of seeping leachate, an extremely toxic liquid that is formed inside landfills, containing dissolved organic and suspended matter .
The recycling industry is just like any other industry, it is driven by the demand of the market. This poses a problem when people use recycling as a default excuse to consumerism. Should there not be a market for a specific material, it will simply be placed in a landfill despite good initial intentions. All recycled material in most municipal cities is sent to Asia to re-create recycled consumer goods that are later shipped back for, us eco-conscious consumers, to purchase.
There are certain materials such as aluminum, glass and metal that can virtually endlessly be recycled, unlike plastic that becomes inert almost immediately after being recycled once. Read The Energy Trail of a Straw to learn how day to day items, that create a lot of waste, can be eliminated.
It is important to also understand why materials such as plastic, have their place in our modern society, yet should not be used as the sole material for many of our goods. Plastic has been known to have many implications, and knowing what they are is critical both for personal and environmental health - read more in my piece, Plastic is a Faux Pax.
What was once known as Norcal Waste Systems, Inc. is today known as Recology - the new brand that refers to their progress to move beyond waste disposal to resource reduction, reuse, recycling and compositing. Aside from the work that Recology is doing to educate the public on the realities of waste, it is running their entire fleet of collection and transfer trucks on alternative fuel, whether liquefied natural gas or biodiesel.
Recology has a very comprehensive website that delineates the many things you never thought you could be recycling. Of some of the curious items that can be recycled are photographs, mattresses (call for pick up), empty paint cans and empty aerosol cans. It is critical to educate yourself on what e-waste, hazardous materials in order to best dispose of them properly. In addition to the various ways they educate the San Francisco community, they offer free monthly tours of the facility, display a sculpture garden with discarded plants and materials as well as a recognized Artist in Residency Program.
This leaves us an open opportunity to think twice about everything we purchase. Try to recycle and compost as much as you can, tread lightly, and consider all your decisions!
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