PSA: Noe Valley Tree Collection Schedule 2010

If you bought a live Christmas Tree or Hanukkah Bush for the holidays, don't just toss it on a random corner when no one's looking (we've already seen a few sad castoffs this season). Do the right thing and recycle it. Sunset Scavenger will haul it away for free starting next week.

Via the Sunset Scavenger RecologySF.com newsletter:

Christmas tree collection will take place January 3-8 and January 10-15. Please place clean, unflocked trees next to your carts when you take them to the curb for your regularly scheduled pickup. Be sure to remove all tinsel, decorations, plastic bags, stands, and lights. If your tree is over 6 feet, please cut it in half.

If you're wondering what happens to your tree once Sunset Scavenger picks it up: it's fed to a wood chipper. The wood chips are then trucked to Tracy, burned to power turbines and create electricity – and then sold back to PG&E to power that iPad you got as a gift this year. In 2009 San Francisco recycled nearly 500 tons (!) of holiday trees, enough to power 20,000 houses for a month.

Crime Beat Redux: Identity Scavengers

Our post on the Church Street Shenanigans elicited this anonymous email from a reader:

I want folks to be wary about papers they dispose of. Twice in the last month I have seen guys going through paper recycling, and not with an eye for beating Sunset Scavengers to the punch. They were clearly looking systematically through papers looking for valuable information, bank receipts, credit card info etc. The second time the guy was even wearing a spelunkers light on his head! The cops have been notified, but better to make sure there is nothing for them to find.

So recycling thieves cost taxpayers $469,000 a year, and they could cost you a lot more. Shred those receipts and credit card statements folks, before you recycle them.

[SFRecycling: Report Form]
[NVSF: Recycling Theft = $469,000]
[SFGate: Judge orders scavengers to stop raiding trash]

PSA: Sunset Scavenger Holiday Collection Schedule And Tree Disposal

The folks at Sunset Scavenger were kind enough to provide the following information regarding disposal of all the dead trees in neighborhood living rooms:

Christmas tree collection will take place on Jan. 4-8 and Jan. 11-15. Please place clean, unflocked trees next to your carts when you take them to the curb for your regularly scheduled pickup. Be sure to remove all tinsel, decorations, plastic bags, stands, and lights. If your tree is over 6 feet, please cut it in half. Christmas trees collected through this special pick up program will be taken to Recology San Francisco, fondly known as the city dump, where they will be chipped. Recology San Francisco then transfers the chips to a waste-to-energy facility in Tracy, CA.

What shouldn't you do? Don't just drag your poor dead tree to the corner and cover it in plastic like the cheap thrill it was.

In related news, trash collection will not happen on Christmas and New Year's Day. Instead, your regular Friday pickup will happen on Saturday 12/26/09 and 1/2/10. Regular collection (with tree pickup) resumes on 1/4/09. Full information here.

[NVSF: Fun with Analytics: Christmas Trees]
[Photo: SFRecycling]

Crime Report: Scavengers

In addition to detailing recent armed robberies, burglaries and drug arrests in the Mission in his weekly newsletter, Mission Station Captain Stephen Tacchini addressed the problem of recycling scavengers:

Over the past few weeks I have received complaints from residents in the district regarding noise, littering, and suspicious persons with pickup trucks, carts, and gargage bags related to the removal of recyclable goods from containers. Upon checking with representatives of Sunset Scavenger, I have come to learn this is a significant and costly problem city wide. Who suffers from the loss of this significant material? You--the neighborhood residents.

The dumping of the recycle bins by unauthorized persons is evident by the debris, broken glass, liquid, and papers they leave on the street, creating a public safety hazard and exacerbated litter problem. This results in the Department of Public Works having to come out to clean up the mess, at a cost borne by taxpayers.

Officers from Mission Station will be working towards reducing the types of complaints related to this problem and assistance from the public will be very helpful. In the spirit of community policing I request citizens who observe persons removing recyclable goods from containers on the street, by other than Department of Public Works or Sunset Scavenger personnel to report their observations to SFRecycling.com. This will provide information as to where, when and by whom, using what type of vehicle this activity is being conducted. Your assistance will help us to identify the persons responsible and we can proceed from there to abate the associated problems neighborhoods are experiencing.

It is important to recycle and be as energy and environmentally efficient as possible. It is also important to maintain clean and safe streets while working towards reducing the amount of garbage going into land fills. Reducing the incidence of the theft of recyclable goods will result in fewer noise complaints, cleaner / safer streets, and potentially lower service charges.

Timely, because since a San Francisco Judge "ordered a dozen of the city's most prolific recycling scavengers to stop looting bottles, cans and cardboard from curbside bins" last month they seem to be out in stronger force.

[SFRecycling: Report Form]
[NVSF: Recycling Theft = $469,000]
[SFGate: Judge orders scavengers to stop raiding trash]

Trash: Black, Blue or Green Bin?

Trash stress in Noe Valley: What to do with items that aren't listed on the black, blue or green collection bins? We always wonder about things like dryer lint. Or corks. Or bicycle inner tubes.

We contacted Sunset Scavenger and spoke to Robert Reed, Public Relations Manager. We gave him a long list of items we don't know what to do with. He responded: "We have tried putting lists together but found long lists can overwhelm customers and often it may be more effective to focus on items and behaviors that provide the best opportunities to help protect the environment through source reduction, reuse and recycling. Internally we call this approach 'Better Instincts.'"

What follows is an article prepared by Sunset Scavenger in response to our questions, as well as specifics on what goes where.

Recycling more helpful at protecting environment than many know

How to recycle resources in San Francisco

A study by Institute on Self-Reliance reports that if Americans recycled and composted 90 percent of all their discards, we could cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 400 million metric tons, equivalent to closing 21 percent of all U.S. coal-fired power plants. That would be a tremendous reduction in emissions.

Here is how recycling helps protect the climate: Food scraps tossed in a trash bin go to a landfill, decompose and produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Those same scraps tossed in a green cart go to a modern compost facility; there much of the nutrients and carbon in the scraps are preserved in the finished compost and returned to the soil when the amendment is applied to local vineyards and farms.

Here is even better news: Compost also helps the Earth to store carbon.

What are some simple guidelines that help make sure everything that can be recycled and composted in San Francisco goes in the blue and green carts? The short answer is: all bottles, cans, paper, and nearly all plastics go in the blue recycling cart; food scraps, yard waste, and food-soiled paper go in the green cart.

Plastics acceptable for blue cart recycling include plastic tubs and lids and yogurt containers, plastic cups, clamshell containers, molded plastic packaging, plastic buckets and flower pots, and broken plastic toys as long as they have no metal parts, batteries, circuit boards or wiring.

Plastic film of any kind, such as plastic bags and plastic wrap, is not accepted in the blue cart. Styrofoam is not accepted.

Recycling managers in San Francisco like to say “if it was ever alive, you can put it in the green cart.” Food scraps and yard trimmings go in the (green) compost collection cart. Some people fear that food scraps will smell. Here is the simple fix. Place kitchen trimmings and plate scrapings in a paper milk carton, a compostable bag (inside a kitchen pail), or a paper bag with a little newspaper at the bottom to absorb moisture. Place kitchen trimmings and plate scrapings inside, roll the top shut and toss it in your green cart.

Vegetables, fruit, cooked meat and poultry, eggs, fish bones and seafood shells can all go in the green cart. They are rich in nutrients and turned into compost literally become food for the soil. Soiled paper such as used paper napkins and paper towels should also go in the green cart.

Labels on cart lids also show what items go in which carts. Additional information is posted at SFRecycling.com and SFEnvironment.org.

What they didn't mention is that recycling and composting also saves you, the consumer, money. The amount charged for trash collection is based on the size of the black bin - the smaller the bin, the lower the charge. The blue and green bins are provided no charge.

Sunset Scavenger also took our original list and annotated it with suggestions:

Blue cart:

• tinfoil (ball it up)
• aerosol cans (empty only)

Green cart:

• tea bags
• chicken bones / feathers
• used facial tissues
  
• dryer lint
• corks
• vacuum cleaner bags (full, no plastic)
• cornstarch packing peanuts (can compost if truly made from cornstarch, but put them in a paper bag and roll the top shut so they won’t blow [out of] the outdoor compost facility) update below

Black cart (goes to landfill):

• candle stubs (wax)
• dead birds (wild)
• used facial tissues
• fabric softener sheets
• cat droppings (contain toxic ammonia, pregnant women strongly advised to avoid them)
• bubble wrap
• rubber bands
• dryer lint
• corks
• vacuum cleaner bags (full, no plastic)

Bulky Item Collection, BIC, program

• small appliances (coffee makers, mixers)

Other (how to avoid landfill altogether):

• clothes/fabric (thrift stores/clothes donation boxes)
• cooking oil (SF GreaseCycle)
• mylar wrappers (return to Terracycle's pilot recycling program)
• Tetrapak containers (don’t buy aseptic packaging, switch to reusable metal bottles)
• rubber bike tubes (check on the internet for a creative reuse)
• dog droppings (flush down the toilet)
• tampon applicators (buy brands that use cardboard applicators and put cardboard in the blue black cart)
• propane canisters (reuse them)
• bicycle and Nalgene-type water bottles (switch to reuseable metal bottles, otherwise blue cart)
• cornstarch packing peanuts (can be reused or dissolved in warm water)
• Styrofoam packing peanuts (avoid them; if you receive some, drop them off at a UPS shipping store or return them to whoever sent them to you.)
• shipping pallets (reuse them)
• (broken) pottery / ceramics (put them in a paper bag and break them by hitting them with a hammer and reuse them in tile projects or toss them in the black cart)
• perfume/cologne (use it up)
• straw baskets/hats/etc (if you cut straw baskets and hats into small pieces, we can compost the straw)

Can we use Lawn and Leaf BioBags curbside (as opposed to paper bags)?

Watch out for “bio-plastic.” The key word there is plastic. We can not compost plastic. The best container for compostable material is the green cart. If you routinely have more compostable material than fits in your green cart, call us and we will bring you a larger or a second green cart. If you have extra prunings, tie them with a string and set them next to your green cart. Local hardware stores sell large paper bags, some people use to hold extra branch cuttings. Manufacturers of large compostable bags need to more clearly mark the bags as compostable and certify that their bags are truly compostable. Some look like [regular] plastic bags to recycling workers. [Editor -- the bags from Tuggey's or Walgreens are clearly marked on the side.]

Do household batteries still go in a bag on top of black bin? (They have been stolen there, so we bring them to collection places.)

We favor rechargables. People can also place used household batteries in a clear plastic bag on top of their black cart, and we will collect them for recycling.

UPDATE (1/28): We received a correction from Heidi Obermeit, Waste Reduction Specialist for Sunset Scavenger:

Most of the information listed in the article is accurate but there are a few items that should be removed from the acceptable green cart items. While the majority of this material may be organic we do not accept dryer lint, corks, full vacuum cleaner bags, or cornstarch packing peanuts in the green cart. These materials should all go in the black cart with the exception of the cornstarch packing peanuts which can be reused, dissolved in warm water for disposal, or placed in the black cart.

Also, we do accept used facial tissues in the green cart and used tampon applicators should go in the black cart.

[Official Site: SF Recycling]
[NVSF: SF GreaseCycle]
[NVSF: Recycling Theft = $469,000]

Fun with Analytics: Christmas Trees

Noe Valley, SF has received a huge amount of traffic lately for our post about holiday trash pick-up. Most people found us with some keyword variation of "Sunset Scavenger Christmas Tree Pickup." We think it's great that so many people are genuinely interested in the proper way to dispose of their holiday cheer.

Contrast that with the apathy of those who have dragged their trees to the curb on any old day and in any condition. Apparently these people haven't read the newsletter that comes with their trash bill (owners) or tried to find the information online (all others). They can't be bothered.

Friendly reminder: Christmas Holiday tree curbside pick-up is this week only. Don't dump your tree on the curb after that. Option: "Trees can also be dropped off at the Haight-Ashbury Neighborhood Council at 780 Frederick St. until Jan. 18, and at Golden Gate Disposal and Recycling at 900 Seventh St. until Jan. 16." Or you could bring them to the SF Recycling Center.

[NVSF: PSA: Sunset Scavenger's Holiday Collection Schedule]
[CBS5: SF Curbside Christmas Tree Recycling Begins]
[NVSF: Fun with Analytics: Google Club]
[Photo: Brian Brooks, via Curbed]

PSA: Sunset Scavenger's Holiday Collection Schedule

Sunset Scavenger only takes a couple of days off a year, and they're in the next couple of weeks. If your building has collection on Monday, Tuesday or Friday, then collection will be 'normal.' But Thursday and Friday collection will be delayed by one day for Christmas and New year's weeks (normal Thurs pickup will be on Friday, etc).

Christmas tree collection is from January 5-9. "Place clean, unflocked trees next to your carts when you take them to the curb for your regularly scheduled pickup." In other words, don't wait until the end of January to haul your dried-out fire hazard to some corner and dump it. If you really must keep a tree that long take it to the SF Recycling Center yourself.

Some other tidbits from the October-December newsletter:

Prevent needlestick injuries: "Residents with medical conditions requiring the use of hypodermic needles can get free sharps containers at 60 pharmacies in the City." (As we read that, the law doesn't apply to using needles for recreational activities.) At any rate, it's now a state law that all needles and sharps are disposed of properly - protect the sanitation workers. (Duh?) In Noe Valley, Walgreen's is your source for sharps containers.

Why compost if it's all going to break down in landfill anyway? "A chicken bone tossed into a garbage can goes to a landfill, decomposes and produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. That same bone tossed into a green cart goes to a modern compost facility, and most of the carbon in the bone is preserved in the finished compost and returned to the land..."

Shredded paper - bag it (paper bag, of course) and then label bag as "shredded paper." "Small paper shreds are difficult to sort from other recyclables at the recycling plant... Doing this prevents the shreds from blowing away to become litter."

More complete information is available at SFRecycling.com

[NVSF: SF GreaseCycle]
[NVSF: Recycling Theft = $469,000]
[NVSF: Dumping: Why Here?]

Recycling Theft = $469,000

Sunset Scavenger's latest newsletter describes the growing nuisance of recycling thieves:

Thousands of city residents have filed complaints about groups of poachers stealing bottles and cans from blue recycling carts and dumping recyclables into beat-up trucks crudely fashioned to carry big payloads.

Residents report that recycling thieves wake families in the middle of the night, throw newspaper and other materials on the ground (leaving homeowners to deal with the mess) and trespass onto private property. One San Francisco resident said she was assaulted by a recycling thief after asking the poacher not to take her recyclables.

This isn't news, but for the first time they've put a price tag on it: $469,000 in taxpayer money.

So how do you feel about it? Benign? Annoying? A menace? Do you think it's actually hurting anyone, or is Sunset Scavenger whining about lost revenue? And if "thousands" have complained, why isn't anything being done to stop it locally (as opposed to AB 1778)?

If you'd like to express yourself, here's some contact information:

• Sunset Scavenger: Recycle Theft Form (they'll compile info and send to the City)
• SFPD non-emergency line: (415) 553-0123 (to report theft in-progress)
• Bevan Dufty
• Mayor Newsom's Noe Valley Liaison: Alex Randolph - email, (415) 554-6267