PSA: Don't Illegally Dump Christmas Trees & How to Legally get Rid of It

Since the holidays are way over, it's time to put that fresh cut Christmas tree away.

Unfortunately, there are some San Francisco residents who think it's OK to dump their tree on the corner or leave it next to some random trash dumpster (that's not their own) and assume someone is going to pick it up. The worst one I've seen is a tree dumped in the median of Great Highway, directly across from the Beach Chalet. Remember, dumping your holiday tree inappropriately can be considered illegal dumping, it's against the law, and will cost more as the city has to pick it up, not the city's garbage pickup company.

But there's an easy solution, and you don't have to shove it in your compost bin.

Recology will be picking up trees this week during your normal trash/recycling/compost pickup day. All you need to do is leave your tree next to your bins and they will do the rest. There are some basic rules to follow: No flocked trees, lights, plastic bags, and stands must be removed. If the tree is more than six feet tall, Recology is asking customers to cut it in half.

If you don't get your tree taken away this week, you'll have the fun job of breaking it apart and cramming it into your compost bin. So, take care of it now!

Illegal Dumping is a Big Problem & How to Fight Back

Almost every single day I ride Muni's 18-46th Avenue from the Outer Richmond district to SF State, I find illegally dumped items on sidewalks; in many cases, at the same spot time and time again. For example, I always find some kind of nasty looking treasure on the intersection of 33rd Avenue and Balboa, and the problem has been so rampant in that location, the city put up warning notices on the utility poles saying "NO DUMPING."

Some of the most common things I find is old televisions (the bulky tube TVs) and soiled mattresses. I sometimes find drawers and cabinets, while others are e-waste like computers and monitors.

Dumping items on the street is illegal. Our streets are not places where you can dump your used personal property and it's a free-for-all for people to grab the freebies. Dumping stuff on the streets is a huge eyesore and makes our streets look ugly.

Anyway, nobody wants a used mattress. I don't even want to know what the hell is that stain on it. Do you like a computer? How about one full of someone's personal information and possibly a virus?

I try to do my best as a local citizen to get those illegally dumped items removed. I always give a quick tweet or call to San Francisco 311 so it can be picked-up, but for every time the city has to do it, it comes with a high cost. DPW's clean-up trucks go around the city picking-up illegally dumped items from requests from the general public and whatever they find when they pass by. One time, I called 311 to report a huge TV on the street corner, and due to its size, they have to bring two city employees to remove it because who wants to pay workers comp for a back injury?

--------------------

Here's some ways to fight back:

• If you find someone illegally dumping, call the cops: (415) 553-0123.
• If you find illegally dumped items, call: 311 or (415) 701-2311. You can remain anonymous.
• Humiliate people who do it: Tape a sign on the illegally dumped item stating: "Illegally dumped, SHAME ON YOU!" You could also post a sign on a nearby lamppost saying: "To those who illegally dump, I know who you are."
  

How to get rid of large & bulky items (legally):

• See if a local charity organization is having a pick-up. In my neighborhood, we get a courtesy card every couple of months of a charity asking for donations. Usually, huge items like mattresses are not welcomed, but they may accept large electronic items like TVs and computers.
  
• Keep an eye out for drive thru drop-off events in your area. Some of them are available to anyone, regardless of what neighborhood or city you live in. In other cases, you must live in a particular neighborhood to utilize the service. Be aware, there may be certain limitations on what you can drop-off.
• Goodwill locations are usually happy to accept a lot of items, that is, if you are willing to haul it and carry it yourself.
  
• Contact Recology (a.k.a. Sunset Scavenger & Golden Gate) for pickup. If you have trash service in the city, you get free junk removal. The freebie pick-ups depends on the service the company provides (homes, apartments, multi-unit buildings, etc.), but each pick-up can be up to ten items. They can collect all kinds of items, and usually more than what other services will do for you. For more information, click here.

Take action! Keep our city streets looking nice!

Is it Time to End SF's Recycling Centers?

I was thinking to myself, it is worthwhile for the City and County of San Francisco to have recycling centers at major grocery stores around the city? In my perspective, I believe it's time to end those centers for many reasons.

Regardless of any state or local laws that require recycling centers, just the sight of these centers makes me sick to my stomach because of the unsavory acts that happen.

• Ever ride Muni and notice some stinky guy with two garbage bags full of aluminum cans and plastic bottles while the damn bag is leaking? It makes me question if the guy is a druggie trying to get some more cash to get high.
  
• There are trucks that roam the city at night looking through your blue bins on the street (a.k.a. trash pickup day) to find valuable aluminum cans so they can haul it to their nearest recycling site and receive a wad of cash. But has the city really enforced it? No. But now with Newsom's new law about mandatory recycling and composting, we the garbage company customers can be financially penalized when it wasn't our damn fault since those "professional" thieves just rummage through the blue can and throw the newspapers into the black trash bin.
• Let's also remember that people stealing out of our blue trash bins are also making our garbage rates go higher. Sunset Scavenger (a.k.a. "Recology") makes money on the items in the blue bins and passes on the savings into your service bill. My home recycles so much, we asked for a bigger blue bin than the standard size most city residents get.
• I've always wondered just how these recyclers can really make that much money off of cans, bottles, and other stuff. I don't think spending an hour would make the city's minimum wage of about $10 (don't forget the new sick time laws and health care), so why not just find a real job?

I think the city should rethink about their options on recycling:

1. Outright close all recycling centers and setup only ONE center down at the city dump. It makes people choose, throw it in their blue bin, or haul it all the way across town where Muni doesn't go nearby to visit the city dump?
2. Instead of those shipping crate recycling centers, how about automated recycling vending machines? Here's a great example: Andronico's on Irving used to do recycling, but it wasn't some place to drop off a garbage bag and get it weighed. It was a place where there were three machines about the size of soda vending machines, and each machine was for each type of item (glass, plastic, and cans). The machine was made so that a user opens a door, inserts one bottle or can, and shuts the door to recycle the item, then repeat. For the person who just likes to get a few nickels and dimes for their soda drinking, sure, it was a fun thing to do. But... for those hardcore recyclers, it was a total pain in the ass because recycling more than 20 cans took FOREVER! Plus, you never got dollar bills or a check, it was just purely nickels, dimes, and quarters.