HOME | recycle

project 1-yard clean up

project 2-can recycling

project 3-e-waste set uP

We started off the day in an unusual manner: coffee, political discussion, and our plan for the day’s festivities. In the yard there is a huge pile of discarded and unwanted “stuff” that keeps on growing. From the before picture you can see the pile consisting of desks, chairs, refrigerators, electronic waste, and miscellaneous metals from weight benches, parts to the desks, and rusted old waste bins. Our job for the day was to prevent as much landfill as possible. Every item had to be sorted through, analyzed, and inspected while sorting. With the desks, the treated wood portion of the tops was treated as landfill and the untreated desk tops were recyclable. The chair itself were all made of metal and therefore recyclable and placed into the container for metals. The frames of the chairs were also recyclable. As for the refrigerators and all electronic waste goes into a separate pile for e-waste pick up. This included all the copiers, computers, electrical cords, and all computer pieces. The spinning rolling chairs had to be dismantled as they were made of plastic, metal, and fabric. The cushions of the chairs were upholstered and can be recycled by Recology. These were placed into a separate bin near the Wellness Center and all items placed into it are sorted through by Recology. The rest of the chairs were plastic that was recyclable and held together by metal screws which are also recyclable. It may seem like a small project, but it was a day filled with heavy lifting, unscrewing of nuts and bolts, and landfill prevention that proved victorious.

Throughout the day I noticed much of the landfill could have been prevented just by reusing some of the items. Most of the chairs had little wear and tear on them and they could have been easily reupholstered to look like new again. Some of the desks had rust on them from sitting out in the rain and could have been sanded down and reused. You can see in one of the pictures of the storage container that we filled with metal scraps from today that could have been donated to the welding department for use in class or even used for art installations of some kind instead of placed into a bin for someone else to sort through. From the pictures of before to after you can see the difference we made. We proved to be successful at landfill prevention through disassembling, sorting, and inspecting the “stuff” in the Recycling Department’s yard.

The first item on our list of “to do’s” was to prepare bottles and cans for pickup. Throughout the month we manage all waste stations throughout the campus. At each station we have to sort through landfill, compost, and recycling to ensure proper disposal of items. It seems like an easy chore, but do to unsureness, lack of knowledge, or not caring, people not properly disposing their items makes this job extremely difficult. If all stations were properly used then we could easily do the whole entire campus each day, but having to sort through every one takes tie that we can be doing other tasks that need completion.

From the pictures you can see the amount of cans and bottles that we collected this month. After our day is finished we must always ensure cans and bottles are locked up to prevent theft. They are all locked up in a storage container in the corner of the yard and placed into huge canvas bags for easy pick up. Our Planet was to come at 11am and my job was to unlock the storage container and drag the canvas bags out into the yard. Our Planet does the rest, they load the bottles and cans into their truck and we prepare for the next month’s gathering of recyclables.

After Our Planet left the next agenda was to clear and spot and build a sorting stating in the Southwest corner of the yard. This is to have a spot for all Recycling Department employees to separate compost, landfill, and recyclables from their days collection. One of our challenges is not having a spot located for this and it takes space and can be very messy. In this particular corner there were all the grey trash cans that are being phased out as City College is trying to be zero waste only utilizing recycling and compost. There were also green and blue cans that had to be inspected for any leaks. The leaking cans were to be recycled and the unloaders placed near the other cans that were to be included into rotation. The metal was placed into the container for metals for Recology to pick up. The area was now cleared and finished with a good raking.

For the sorting station we placed three wood pallets down side by side and flush against the white storage container. This created a make shift wall to prevent smaller items from falling under it. We then placed two metal desks side by side on top of the pallets for the actual sorting station. Carlita was to nail it all together with 2X4’s and also to extend the legs of the desks so the designated trash can could easily slide underneath the desk. From the pictures you can see the completed sorting station. Now we, as waste management specialists, have an allocated area for easy sorting where we can be more efficient, more effective, and cleaner.

Just like all other days it was filled with heavy lifting and hard work. The difference is we completed a project that was discussed about since my first day of work. Carlita needed an extra hand and I proved to be very helpful when it came down to completing projects like this one. The only challenge with building the sorting station is knowing the whole time we were working, there was no one out on campus monitoring the waste stations. While we work completing a much needed project, there was more work for us piling up. The ultimate challenge when it comes to waste management at City College is the lack of manpower. It is entirely impossible to manage the entire campus with only a handful of people. It is extremely difficult work, it is exhausting, and is never ending.

First thing we had to do was to load up the van with the proper materials for or list of chores. We needed three pallets, three cardboard boxes, and a couple clean trash bins just in case. The cardboard boxes are ginormous and for electronic waste stations. We loaded the van, grabbed some apples off the tree for breakfast, and headed out.

First stop was Mission campus to check in with Joaquin who works with us managing waste. In the storage area where the loading dock is, there is a corner allocated for electronic waste only. All other waste is either compost, recycling, or landfill. Carlita and I had to move the pile of e-waste and place down a couple pallets. On top of the pallets we placed two of the cardboard boxes, one for e-waste, and one for ink cartridges. We sorted through the pile and placed items into their proper bin and helped Joaquin sort through his collectings before leaving.

Second stop of the day was 33 Gough St where there was a pick up of electronic waste and some more rolling chairs. We set up another e-waste station with a pallet and a cardboard box just as on Mission campus. All the e-waste that was to be picked up was loaded into blue bins and rolled to the loading dock where we sorted through it. All the tapes had to be removed from their cardboard covers and placed into the e-waste bin and the covers into recycling. The chairs were not going to all fit therefore were rolled to a secluded area for a later pick up. The card board boxes were properly labeled for FedEx, our mess on the floor was cleaned up, and we moved onward.

Our third and final stop for the day was returning to the yard. After a brief discussion of what our next tasks were, I planted some potatoes, gave Carlita some carrot seeds to plant next spring, and decided to meet up with Tim for the rest of the day. I usually end work at 4pm and it was already 3. Tim and I met up at Cloud Hall at the Veterans Center. This floor is one of the dirtier floors on campus and stations are always overflowing, contaminated, and filthy form food. Due to the severe conditions the stations were in, we only had time for the third floor. We ended the day at the dumpsters by the science building sorting through compost, recycling, and landfill.

11/14/16 (6 Hours)

BEFORE CLEAN-UP

AFTER CLEAN-UP

METAL COLLECTED FROM PILE

11/16/16 (6 HOURS)

CANS AND BOTTLES COLLECTED FOR THE MONTH

BEFORE AND AFTER BUILDING SORTING STATION

11/21/16 (6 HOURS)

ELECTRONIC WASTE PICK UP

welcome to the wonderful world of waste management and recycling:

CLAYTON LAMB

“When overseas you learn more about your own country, than you do the place you’re visiting.” – Clint Borgen

HOSTED BY

I was always a tree hugging hippy! I don’t own a car, either walk or take MUNI everywhere, and my diet is pretty boring consisting of fruits, vegetables, and rice and beans. For water I play a song on youtube as my timer unless washing my hair. I spend a great deal of time reading, making art, and traveling whenever possible. I live in an apartment so electricity is something I cannot change at the moment. For now, we have some of our electricity coming from a renewable source. As an environmental science major I have always have been aware of my ecological footprint on this planet and have already altered the way I live to decrease my impact as much as possible.

At the beginning of the semester I scored a 31 on the Lifestyle Survey. It went down to 20 when I learned how many gallons of water it takes to make beef and I don’t compost which is one thing that I did change this semester. When it came to my ecological footprint it would take 4.2 planets, 18.6 global acres of Earth’s productive area, and expelling 20.8 tons of carbon into the atmosphere if everyone lived like me.

After retaking the survey my ecological footprint stayed the same. So going back through the survey, I changed some of my answers (the ones I could change) and found that it was the amount of traveling that I do. I watch my water use, have a vegan diet, and now a certified waste management and recycling specialist. When I changed my traveling from 25 to 100 hours to zero hours, my footprint went down to 3.1 planets. This is a difference of 1.1 planets just by changing one behavior. Next year I already have Costa Rica booked, next summer plan to backpack through Europe, and this is already about 35 hours of traveling.

The goal of the Lifestyle Project was to change little behaviors in our lives and reduce our ecological footprints. For me it is easy to be vegan, watch water use, and watch my waste because I already do this. But when it comes to traveling it is the hardest behavior for me to make. Traveling is my drug of choice and I am addicted! It has also lead me to places where I saw first hand the effects of pollution on a global scale. Seeing beaches in Bali covered with water bottles as far as the eye can see, trash build up on shorelines in Belize stretching the entire length of it, and kids scavenge through landfill and garbage in the streets of Nicaragua. It gave me a perspective of what other countries are doing when it comes to recycling, composting, and waste management and how we, in the US, can better our practices. This birthed my passion for waste management and recycling and my desire to clean up our planet!

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

Summary of work experience

Working in the Recycling Department at City College was a life changing experience that opened my eyes to the world of waste management. It is a complicated world that is vast, frustrating, and never ending. I learned the difference between soft and hard plastics. I learned how potato chip bags, candy wrappers, and juice boxes are made by gluing some materials together which makes them non-recyclable. I learned how to properly identify, sort, and dispose of all unwanted items left by people (also known as waste). Most importantly I had the opportunity to work side by side with two of the most inspirational, dedicated, and passionate individuals. Carlita and Tim showed we the world of waste management and the side not all people see or hear about and the challenges they face on a daily basis.

One of the challenges I want to mention is the severity of the contamination of the stations on campus and how this effects our jobs as waste management specialists. When coffee cups are not properly separated by lid and cup it makes our jobs a nightmare. I learned how aluminum foil wrapped burritos and food items are thrown into the compost. There has been plenty of days I spent so much time picking aluminum foil off food items because it will contaminate the compost to the point in which Recology will landfill it as the contamination can only be a certain percentage. I am not sure as to how they gauge this, but aluminum foil in the compost wrapped around food is another avoidable nightmare. Instead of us collecting waste and moving on, we have to take time sorting through it. When it comes to manpower and limited hours in the week, this takes time from other projects we can be doing that would be beneficial. We could be outreaching, educating students on proper disposal of waste, doing some campus trash pick up, or all of this and more.

The more I work here, the more I see and learn and the most important is making a career out of waste. Pollution is one of the five direct drivers of environmental change and it is from all of our waste. There are plenty of challenges and obstacles to combat and overcome, and this is my lifestyle project. A lifestyle project geared towards us being zero waste. Everyday I make decisions when it comes to my water usage, electricity, food choices, and watching waste. We need more awareness, more education, and to spark a revolution of people who care about our one and only Earth. What I will take from this experience is the change starts with me and choose to not waste it!

what city college can do now!

teach all students, faculty, administrators, and janitors about proper waste disposal including separating of their coffee cups, unwrapping their food from aluminum foil, and what soft plastics should be placed into landfill
on the first day of class have teachers teach students on compost, recycling, and landfill
send out mass emails with information on compost, recycling, and landfill. Have it include the effects of environmental change from waste or some pictures of our impacts from waste
a universal coding system on all vending machines to help students. For example, have a either a green, blue. or black poster on them indicating their destinations once items are consumed from the package.
have vending mahines with healthier snack choices. This will help with landfill and recycling. ALL vending machines on campus contain snacks filled with sugar and empty calories and are not recyclable. This will also promote smarty, healthy choices instead of drinking Pepsi and eating M&Ms.

The aforementioned challenges above in regards to waste management at City College can be combatted with little effort and some good ole education. After all we are all here to get educated and I think waste management should be a huge part of it. From my experience working here I came up with some ideas that would be easy to do without much effort. This would be financially sustainable and prove beneficial to City College.