COMMUNITY: Recycling services expanding

Starting in January, there will be no excuse to throw away paper, cereal boxes, grass clippings and leaves.

The company that handles garbage collection will begin picking up most types of paper--from magazines to envelopes with plastic windows to toilet paper rolls--and most yard waste in Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, Atherton, North Fair Oaks and other unincorporated pockets of Menlo Park.

And, instead of leaving out yard waste for the last garbage day of the month, residents can now put out all their recycling bins and yard waste container every other week on their neighborhood's "Environmental Day."

BFI Waste Systems, the garbage collector for these areas, will continue to drop off new, free recycling containers for mixed paper and labels for yard waste containers through Dec. 20. Yard waste can go in garbage cans with the label. Glass, plastics and cans will be commingled in the "cans" container, and the "glass" container will become an overflow bin for the other materials.

The new service is the result of negotiations with BFI and the South Bayside Transfer Station Authority (SBTSA), which represents San Mateo County and 10 cities in the county.

The program will help the cities meet a state mandate to reduce the amount of garbage they generate 50 percent from 1991 levels by the year 2000.

"The bottom line is all the cities reached their (required) 25 percent by 1995. In order to get 50 percent it's going to require yard waste," said Duane Sandul, a spokesman for BFI.

Now that cans, glass and newspaper are commonly recycled, yard waste and mixed paper are the "next two large materials that comprise what's currently going to the waste stream," said Kathleen Gallagher, recycling programs manager for the transfer station authority.

The cities in SBTSA diverted an average of 29 percent of their waste by 1995.

The recycling day begins Jan. 9 in Menlo Park and unincorporated Menlo Park, and continues every other Thursday. In Atherton, East Palo Alto and North Fair Oaks it begins Jan. 10 and continues every other Friday. Garbage day may be different.

Yard waste includes grass, plants, small branches cut into 4-foot segments, leaves, ivy and succulents like ice plant. Don't add trash, plastic bags, palm or yucca, food scraps, dirt, rocks, manure, bamboo, cactus or sod to the bin.

Mixed paper includes junk mail, binder paper, computer paper, paper grocery bags, telephone books, Manila folders, postcards, magazines, catalogs, shoe boxes, cereal and dry food boxes and more. Paper with food on it, like pizza boxes, and coated paper, like milk boxes, can't be recycled.

The new program will also take colored plastic bottles, including shampoo, hand soap and bleach bottles.

To keep track of it all, BFI is giving customers magnet calenders with the new schedule.

"We wanted to make sure the programs are easy to participate in. The majority of people are really excited about this," Gallagher said.

What do you think?

To register your opinion on this or any other story in today's Weekly, call our ReaderWire line at 326-8291 (then press 1), send e-mail to readerwire@paweekly.com or fax us at 326-3928. "The bottom line is all the cities reached their (required) 25 percent by 1995. In order to get 50 percent it's going to require yard waste." @id:--Duane Sandul, BFI



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