Transit agencies pledge less waste
6
LOCAL
examiner.com
SF
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Transit agencies pledge less waste BART and Muni to work with The City on reducing ticket trash on the streets By Tara Ramroop Examiner Staff Writer They’re stuffed in our pockets and purses and scattered around our homes, but tickets and transfer slips from BART and the San Francisco Municipal Railway are also significant waste problems. Representatives from both public transportation agencies said they are working to significantly reduce the impact of tickets on the environment. While BART has relatively little ticket-related trash since the ticket machines automatically swallow used tickets, its tickets are not recyclable, BART director Bob Franklin
told The Examiner. Though the plastic sheen on the tickets is recyclable, the magnetic strip read by station ticket machines is not, presenting a hefty garbage haul estimated at 600 pounds per day, Franklin said. BART has had discussions with at least two companies about whether its possible to have workers snip the magnetic strips off by hand — or by some other, quicker method of removal — which would enable BART to recycle approximately 90 percent of what is currently thrown away, Franklin said. “It’s an industrywide concern,” Franklin said. “There’s no proven use for these tickets — they’re sturdy, but they’re wasteful.” There are no problems recycling the transfers for San Francisco's Muni system, except too many of the tickets don't make it into a bin. A trash audit, released in June and commissioned by The City’s Department of the Environment, found Muni
415.831.2228
Reg. $75
Medical Supplies and Equipment
71535-0
www.ableforlife.com
Only $55
Come to Our Showroom to See Our Wide Selection of Cabinetry, Refacing Options, Countertops and Flooring Book by January 5th, 2008 & Receive $1,000 Off Your New Kitchen
650-631-4330 Showroom Hours: Saturday 9am-3pm • Monday-Friday 10am-4pm www.keanekitchens.com
Independently Rated Highest in Quality by Diamond Certified
70829-0
Offer cannot be combined with other offers.
EANEKITCHENS
which allow riders to pay a fee and reduce the need for individual paper transfers and tickets for each ride — are further expected to cut down costs, according to representatives from the transportation agencies. “We can’t get away from issuing [transfers] entirely, but we can reduce
them significantly,” Siegel said. [email protected]
Find related stories online. Shortcut: Transit
Events held on consecutive days to reflect on traditional principles of community, self
DELIVERY SERVICES AVAILABLE M-F 1-6pm Sat 11-5pm
20% OFF 20% OFF JUST ASK!!!
BART and Muni are working toward measures that should reduce the amount of the ticket-related trash found on the streets. – Cindy Chew/The Examiner
The City kicks off Kwanzaa celebrations
448 CLEMENT ST (near 6th Ave.) • SAN FRANCISCO
Bathroom Safety Equipment Wheelchairs & Walkers Incontinence and MANY MORE
transfers were in the top six “brands” of litter on San Francisco streets. Paper, including receipts, napkins and newspapers, was the second-largest category of litter after gum. In light of the findings, the San Francisco Department of Public Works will launch a number of educational campaigns in 2008 to get the word out about trash, said Gloria Chan, a spokeswoman for the department. “We’re all working together — the Department of the Environment, Muni, [the Municipal Transportation Authority] — to minimize litter,” Chan said. Muni spokesman Alan Siegel said that although the agency does not have jurisdiction over the streets, it plans to have workers scan Muni stops to determine how to improve signage and study what is the most effective way to ask people not to litter. That should start after the first of the year, he said. BART EZ Rider Cards, Muni Fast Pass and TransLink passes — all of
By Joshua Sabatini Examiner Staff Writer A ritualistic dance by a woman in white, observed by some 40 San Franciscans at City Hall, helped kick off Kwanzaa, the seven-day observance of African-American heritage, as well as a series of celebratory events throughout The City. “Kwanzaa is a seven-day festival to celebrate African-American people, the culture and the history. It is a time of celebration, community gathering and reflection,” said Camille Dawkins, liaison to the African-American community for the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services, during opening remarks at the City Hall event. The events taking place from now until Jan. 1 in San Francisco are part of an organized celebration by the Village Project, a youth services organization in San Francisco’s Western Addition neighborhood. Adrian Williams, founder of the Village Project, helped organize the events. Each event, held on consecutive days, will celebrate one of the seven principles of Kwanza, which include unity, creativity, cooperative economics and self-determination. Kwanzaa was founded in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, a professor who taught in California. The founder’s Web site explains that the holiday’s name comes from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili. The number of those who observe Kwanzaa remains unclear with estimates ranging from 4.7 million to as many as 28 million. Kristi Black, program manager with the African American Art & Culture Complex, said the holiday “gives us a sense of connection to the continent of Africa and to unite
San Francisco’s Kwanzaa celebration The Village Project’s director Adrian Williams leads a group of local youths in song during a Kwanzaa celebration at S.F.’s City Hall on Wednesday. – Mike Koozmin/Special to The Examiner
Africans throughout the world.” She also said that the holiday is about “celebrating the first fruits festival” which translates into “celebrating your end of the year, your hard work to get to this point.” At the kickoff celebration, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi presented a proclamation in honor of Raye Richardson, who founded the famous and historic Marcus Books on Fillmore Street. “[Kwanzaa] is something extremely important to our communities within the Fillmore, the Western Addition and frankly citywide,” he said at the event. “It’s incumbent upon City Hall to give Kwanzaa the recognition that I believe it deserves, to help elevate the level standards of what Kwanzaa means to all of us.” [email protected]
» Today 7 p.m. at African American Art & Culture Complex, 762 Fulton St. » Friday 12:30-4 p.m. at Buchanan YMCA, 1530 Buchanan St. » Saturday 7 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Church and Westside Courts Community Room at Broderick and Sutter streets » Sunday 11 a.m. at Rhema Word Ministries, 762 Fulton St. » Monday 12:30-4:30 p.m. at Marcus Garvey Community Room, 1680 Eddy St. » Tuesday Noon-4 p.m. at Ella Hutch Community Center, 1050 McAllister St. Source: The Village Project
Find related stories online. Shortcut: Events
LOCAL
examiner.com
SF
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Transit agencies pledge less waste BART and Muni to work with The City on reducing ticket trash on the streets By Tara Ramroop Examiner Staff Writer They’re stuffed in our pockets and purses and scattered around our homes, but tickets and transfer slips from BART and the San Francisco Municipal Railway are also significant waste problems. Representatives from both public transportation agencies said they are working to significantly reduce the impact of tickets on the environment. While BART has relatively little ticket-related trash since the ticket machines automatically swallow used tickets, its tickets are not recyclable, BART director Bob Franklin
told The Examiner. Though the plastic sheen on the tickets is recyclable, the magnetic strip read by station ticket machines is not, presenting a hefty garbage haul estimated at 600 pounds per day, Franklin said. BART has had discussions with at least two companies about whether its possible to have workers snip the magnetic strips off by hand — or by some other, quicker method of removal — which would enable BART to recycle approximately 90 percent of what is currently thrown away, Franklin said. “It’s an industrywide concern,” Franklin said. “There’s no proven use for these tickets — they’re sturdy, but they’re wasteful.” There are no problems recycling the transfers for San Francisco's Muni system, except too many of the tickets don't make it into a bin. A trash audit, released in June and commissioned by The City’s Department of the Environment, found Muni
415.831.2228
Reg. $75
Medical Supplies and Equipment
71535-0
www.ableforlife.com
Only $55
Come to Our Showroom to See Our Wide Selection of Cabinetry, Refacing Options, Countertops and Flooring Book by January 5th, 2008 & Receive $1,000 Off Your New Kitchen
650-631-4330 Showroom Hours: Saturday 9am-3pm • Monday-Friday 10am-4pm www.keanekitchens.com
Independently Rated Highest in Quality by Diamond Certified
70829-0
Offer cannot be combined with other offers.
EANEKITCHENS
which allow riders to pay a fee and reduce the need for individual paper transfers and tickets for each ride — are further expected to cut down costs, according to representatives from the transportation agencies. “We can’t get away from issuing [transfers] entirely, but we can reduce
them significantly,” Siegel said. [email protected]
Find related stories online. Shortcut: Transit
Events held on consecutive days to reflect on traditional principles of community, self
DELIVERY SERVICES AVAILABLE M-F 1-6pm Sat 11-5pm
20% OFF 20% OFF JUST ASK!!!
BART and Muni are working toward measures that should reduce the amount of the ticket-related trash found on the streets. – Cindy Chew/The Examiner
The City kicks off Kwanzaa celebrations
448 CLEMENT ST (near 6th Ave.) • SAN FRANCISCO
Bathroom Safety Equipment Wheelchairs & Walkers Incontinence and MANY MORE
transfers were in the top six “brands” of litter on San Francisco streets. Paper, including receipts, napkins and newspapers, was the second-largest category of litter after gum. In light of the findings, the San Francisco Department of Public Works will launch a number of educational campaigns in 2008 to get the word out about trash, said Gloria Chan, a spokeswoman for the department. “We’re all working together — the Department of the Environment, Muni, [the Municipal Transportation Authority] — to minimize litter,” Chan said. Muni spokesman Alan Siegel said that although the agency does not have jurisdiction over the streets, it plans to have workers scan Muni stops to determine how to improve signage and study what is the most effective way to ask people not to litter. That should start after the first of the year, he said. BART EZ Rider Cards, Muni Fast Pass and TransLink passes — all of
By Joshua Sabatini Examiner Staff Writer A ritualistic dance by a woman in white, observed by some 40 San Franciscans at City Hall, helped kick off Kwanzaa, the seven-day observance of African-American heritage, as well as a series of celebratory events throughout The City. “Kwanzaa is a seven-day festival to celebrate African-American people, the culture and the history. It is a time of celebration, community gathering and reflection,” said Camille Dawkins, liaison to the African-American community for the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services, during opening remarks at the City Hall event. The events taking place from now until Jan. 1 in San Francisco are part of an organized celebration by the Village Project, a youth services organization in San Francisco’s Western Addition neighborhood. Adrian Williams, founder of the Village Project, helped organize the events. Each event, held on consecutive days, will celebrate one of the seven principles of Kwanza, which include unity, creativity, cooperative economics and self-determination. Kwanzaa was founded in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, a professor who taught in California. The founder’s Web site explains that the holiday’s name comes from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili. The number of those who observe Kwanzaa remains unclear with estimates ranging from 4.7 million to as many as 28 million. Kristi Black, program manager with the African American Art & Culture Complex, said the holiday “gives us a sense of connection to the continent of Africa and to unite
San Francisco’s Kwanzaa celebration The Village Project’s director Adrian Williams leads a group of local youths in song during a Kwanzaa celebration at S.F.’s City Hall on Wednesday. – Mike Koozmin/Special to The Examiner
Africans throughout the world.” She also said that the holiday is about “celebrating the first fruits festival” which translates into “celebrating your end of the year, your hard work to get to this point.” At the kickoff celebration, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi presented a proclamation in honor of Raye Richardson, who founded the famous and historic Marcus Books on Fillmore Street. “[Kwanzaa] is something extremely important to our communities within the Fillmore, the Western Addition and frankly citywide,” he said at the event. “It’s incumbent upon City Hall to give Kwanzaa the recognition that I believe it deserves, to help elevate the level standards of what Kwanzaa means to all of us.” [email protected]
» Today 7 p.m. at African American Art & Culture Complex, 762 Fulton St. » Friday 12:30-4 p.m. at Buchanan YMCA, 1530 Buchanan St. » Saturday 7 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Church and Westside Courts Community Room at Broderick and Sutter streets » Sunday 11 a.m. at Rhema Word Ministries, 762 Fulton St. » Monday 12:30-4:30 p.m. at Marcus Garvey Community Room, 1680 Eddy St. » Tuesday Noon-4 p.m. at Ella Hutch Community Center, 1050 McAllister St. Source: The Village Project
Find related stories online. Shortcut: Events
