Last month I traveled to San Francisco for the National Recycling Coalition (NRC) Annual Congress & Exposition. This event draws professionals from all aspects of the recycling and municipal waste industry from program coordinators to mill operators. San Francisco was the perfect setting for this diverse group and offered a look at some of the leading programs in the nation. The city itself diverts as much as 63% of its waste through recycling, composting, and reuse – surpassing the 50% diversion rate mandated by the State of California. By 2010, San Francisco hopes to be diverting at least 75% of its waste with a goal of eventually becoming completely waste free.
This emphasis on recycling was evident as soon as I checked into the conference hotel. I was immediately handed literature citing the hotel’s recycling goals and explaining that housekeeping staff sort recyclables from the trash as they clean rooms each day. It was even more visible in the alleyways of nearby Chinatown and along the curbsides of local neighborhoods. Most businesses and residences have three separate trash containers – blue for recycling, green for organic waste, and black for trash.
With recycling very prevalent around me, I headed for the Moscone West Convention Center for the NRC Congress & Expo: 4 days of presentations, exhibits, and networking opportunities. On the first morning of the Congress, the College and University Recycling Council (CURC) held its Annual Workshop. This was a great opportunity to meet recycling coordinators from across the country working with a wide range of programs. The round table format provided a chance to discuss our program at the University of Kansas while learning more about how other programs are dealing with recycling, materials reuse, organics, and other issues. In the coming months, much of what I gained from these discussions will be applied to improving waste reduction here on our campus.
Following the CURC Workshop, we were welcomed by NRC aboard the San Francisco Belle, a stern-wheeler with three enclosed decks and a top-level sun deck. The 3 hour reception cruise took us into the San Francisco Bay, along Alcatraz and Angel Islands, under the Golden Gate Bridge, and then back along the pier-lined shore. On the trip out, we got an up-close view of the famous fog rolling ominously into the bay. A gentleman from Texas commented that a sight like that usually meant you’d better run for cover – it looked almost like a wall cloud creeping towards the city.
The next three days offered a variety of presentations, but many of the sessions I attended focused on promoting recycling and creating a recycling “brand”. With participation in recycling programs tapering off, the need for a new push in advertising is growing, which includes “selling” recycling just like any other product or brand name. I also gained insight into electronics recycling, recycling at large venues (which is being put to work at Memorial Stadium this football season), and challenges for recycling in rural areas. Additionally, this year’s America Recycles campaign was unveiled. This yearlong promotion is built around America Recycles Day coming up on November 15.
Although the conference was jam packed with information during the day, evenings left plenty of time to relax and explore. San Francisco’s public transportation system made this very easy, but we were also within a 15- or 20-minute walk to many attraction (which sometimes meant climbing the steep hills this city is known for). Chinatown was just a few blocks away, and with over 250 restaurants and 170 markets, it was easy to get lost browsing through everything from inexpensive trinkets to pricey hand-made furniture. The famous cable cars provided unique transportation to sights a bit further away, like Ghirardelli Square (home of the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory) and Fisherman’s Warf, among other destinations. Along the way we stopped at Lombard Street, the so-called “Crookedest Street”. A constant stream of traffic weaves through 8 switchbacks within just one block on this road as it creeps down the 40% slope.
A short walk from the cable car line took us to the North Bank, featuring numerous Italian restaurants, cafés, and Coit Tower atop Telegraph Hill. This landmark is a memorial to San Francisco firemen and Lillie Hitchcock Coit, a local hero in her childhood and honorary member of the Knickerbocker Company #5. A little further from our hotel was Muir Woods, the last old growth coastal redwood forest in the San Francisco Bay Area. A bus tour across the Golden Gate Bridge to see these ancient, towering trees was a great finish to my environmental excursion.
My travels to San Francisco and the NRC Congress and Expo presented vast opportunities for education in matters of recycling and waste reduction. Diverse in culture, nature, and experience, this trip will have a lasting impact, not only on a personal level, but on the future of the Environmental Stewardship Program here at KU.
