1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot
Samantha Carr

2. Single Stream Recycling
Plastic Containers # Glass Bottles and Jars
Paper, Cardboard, Newspaper Aluminum Cans
RSMC has a single stream recycle program available to both commercial and residential customers. Items that are accepted are…

6. Compost Food Scraps Food & Beverage Soiled Paper
Compostable Food Ware Waxed Paper & Cardboard
RSMC accepts the following in our compost program.

7. Composting Facility
Windrows
__________
Turning the compost

8. Garbage Plastic Bags Styrofoam Plastic Utensils
Black Plastic Toys Snack Wrappers
Gloves Hangers Broken Glasses/Cups

10. What happens after it’s collected?
“Once you throw a material away in the trash, your hands are the last human hands to touch it.”
Ox Mountain Landfill
Landfill science & global climate change
Go over slide. There is only 20 years left at the Ox Mountain landfill. Permitting new landfill is difficult. The likely scenario is to haul the material further, which would result to a higher carbon foot print and increase the cost for the consumers.

11. Landfill

12. Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It is crucial that we separate our materials. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is twice the size of the continental US. It is mainly comprised of plastic debris that originate from land based sources. This material is polluting our oceans and hurting our wildlife. By utilizing our three containers we can reduce waste from going to the ocean.

13. Review: What happens to the collected material?
Garbage
Transfer Station
Ox Mountain Landfill
San Bruno Transfer Station
Recycle
Material Recovery Facility
Operated by South Bay Recycling
Go over three systems.
Compost
Transfer Station
Pacheco Pass

14. What you can do… Reduce waste at the source Reuse and Recycle
Compost food scraps
Conserve natural resources
So what can you do to help? Go over slide.
Reduce: buy only what you need or buy in bulk to reduce packaging: buy recycling content
Reuse: use reusable bags, use mugs rather than disposable
Recycle: Recycle materials rather than throwing away
Compost:…..
Have an Environmentally Preferred Purchasing for office products
Eco cleaners
Recycled content office supplies

15. Reuse

16. Recycle

17. Rot

18. Questions?

19. Glass Product Cycle Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Go over product cycle.
RETAILERS
Glass bottles and jars filled with food and drink are stocked on store shelves.
CONSUMERS
Consumers buy and enjoy their purchase in the glass container.
RECYCLING AT HOME OR WORK
Once the glass is empty, place the glass in the blue Recology recycling container for collection.
PACKING AND REFILLING
New glass is sent to companies to fill them with more products.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
RECYCLING
Recyclables are brought to the Shoreway Environmental Center where is it sorted by machines.
COOLING
The molded glass is cooled.
TRANSPORTATION
Glass is transported to a glass manufacturing factory.
Go over product cycle.
MOLDING
The liquid glass is pour into a mould and air is blown inside to make it hollow.
SORTING AND CRUSHING
Glass is sorted by color and crushed into small pieces called cullet.
MELTING
Cullet is mixed with sand, the raw material used to make glass, and fed into a furnace that melts the glass into a liquid state.

20. Closing the Loop - Compost
HOMES/RESTAURANTS
Restaurants create delicious meals to serve to customers. The food products are also prepared at home .
COMPOST COLLECTION
Food scraps, spoiled food and spoiled paper products can be placed in the compost pail. Once the pail is full, place the collected material in the green Recology compost cart for collection.
RETAILERS
People buy food and other compostable products at grocery stores and other retailers.
PRODUCE
With the amended soil, farmers grow more produce that will be sold in stores. The process starts all over again and closing the loop.
COMPOST COLLECTION
Compost is brought to the Shoreway Environmental Center where it is loaded into larger trucks to be transported to the composting facility.
FARMS
The soil amendment is used by farmers and landscapers in farms and vineyards.
Go over compost cycle.
SORT AND SHRED
The compost is sorted to remove contamination and shredded into smaller pieces to speed up the composting process.
SOIL AMMENDMENT
Once the composting is completed in 60 days, the final product is a rich soil amendment.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
WINDROW
The materials is piled in long rows known as windrows. The windrows are turned several times in the composting process to add air and prevent one area from getting too hot or cold.
FUNGI, BACTERIA, INVERTEBRATES (FBI) AND AEROBIC BREAKDOWN
Organic matter is transformed into compost through the work of the “FBI” who help decompose anything once living.