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| Recycling
Batteries and Glass in San Francisco
by Debby Dunn, Public Outreach Coordinator, S.F. Recycling Program San Franciscans often have questions
about recycling. To help provide more information and improve recycling,
this column will
Q: Where can I recycle my batteries? A: Most batteries can be recycled at a variety of places (see below). To reduce the number of batteries you recycle, and to save money, buy rechargeable batteries. While they are initially more expensive, many rechargeable nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cad) batteries can last up to 1,000 charges. Rechargeable alkaline batteries only last about 30 charges. Basic Household Batteries
Ni-Cad and other rechargeable batteries (often used for cell phones, lap top computers, and cordless power tools) can be taken to over 50 locations around the City, including all Radio Shack and Ace Hardware stores. If your company generates a lot of rechargeable batteries, call RBRC at 1-800-8BATTERY for help in setting up your own battery recycling program. Car Batteries
All Types of Batteries
Batteries collected from these programs are shipped to a battery recycling facility in Nevada where the metals are extracted from them and used in other materials or made into new batteries. Q: What types of glass are recyclable? A: All glass containers, including bottles
and jars are recyclable. You do not need to remove the paper labels (these
burn off in the glass furnace). In addition, containers do not have to
be clean (a bit of food residue is not a problem). Do not recycle ceramic
dishes or mugs.
Glass is not only easy to recycle, but it can be recycled indefinitely (that glass container you used this morning could have glass in it that was manufactured during the Gold Rush), and it is recycled right here in the Bay area.About 80% of the glass containers remain intact during the collection and sorting process. During the sorting process, they are separated into three groups by color: green, clear, and brown. The containers are then sold to glass manufacturers who grind the glass and size it down to be fired in a furnace. The broken pieces are either sold to bottle manufacturers to make new bottles or to fiberglass companies where they are ground into a fine powder and used for fiberglass insulation. Waste Prevention Tip of the Month
*Use reusable plates, cups, and utensils (this reduces costs by 93 percent per year). *Use cloth napkins and table clothes. *Use reusable containers for serving dishes and then for leftovers. *Use metal skewers instead of wooden skewers for shish kabob *Use tin foil instead of saran (tin foil can be recycled in the curbside program). *Compost your non-edible food leftovers. For more waste prevention tips, call the San Francisco Recycling Program and request the Environmental Shopping Guide. If you have questions or article ideas that you would like to see in coming issues, please call (415) 554-3400 or e-mail sfrecycle@ci.sf.ca.us. I look forward to hearing from you! Moving San Francisco Forward by Mayor Willie Brown Nothing brings me greater joy as Mayor of San Francisco than traveling around our city and seeing tangible improvements in every district. We are a city in which new neighborhoods are being created and new services are being demanded. Yet, even as we embrace the future, we respect the past and the traditions which have made our city one-of-a-kind. City-wide, we have some very good news to report: Violent crime is down nearly 40 percent in the last four years. An emphasis on community policing has paid off. We're going to build a new Northern Police Station. We are also accelerating the recruitment of new police officers this year by budgeting for 200 new officers. This will help maintain full staffing. To help keep our children safe, I am adding 26 new police officers to our schools. We plan to build a new Central Police Station and we've funded a new crime lab at Hunters Point Shipyard. We've also cracked down on people who speed through town, blow stop signs, and run red lights. Let's all slow down a little and watch out for one another on the streets. Our economy is booming and unemployment is at 3.5 percent--half of what it was four years ago. We have recruited new, high-wave industries into the city such as film-making, multimedia, and digital production, and we have nurtured our small businesses. I am excited about breaking ground at UCSF's second campus in Mission Bay this summer. Housing is one of my priorities and I am pleased that in the past four years we have built or committed funding for 4,400 new affordable housing units, with another 1,500 into the pipeline. This number doesn't include the 970 units which will become available on Treasure Island in the next 18 months or the 6,000 new units (1,700 of which will be affordable) planned for Mission Bay. And, as you know, the federal government recently removed San Francisco's Housing Authority from the "troubled list." in four years, our rating has gone 51 to nearly 84--a remarkable achievement, but more importantly, an improvement in the quality of life of thousands of San Franciscans. We have a long way to go before Muni is the first-class public transportation system which San Franciscans deserve, but I believe we are making progress. We've fully staffed Muni for the first time; fired or disciplined hundreds of errant drivers; opened the Embarcadero Line; saved the F Line; hired new supervisors to stop bus "bunching;" implemented the "next bus" pilot program on the 22 Fillmore; and most importantly, hired Michael Burns, a transit expert with more than 20 years of experience to run Muni. We'll be doing more--such as replacing more than half of the aging rolling stock in the next two years, continuing with our five-year program to replace the aging track system. We are moving forward with one ballot measure this fall which, if passed, will result in a major overhaul of the way Muni is run. Reliability and safety are my two top goals. We've increased community and recreational services, which translate into a better quality of life for us all. We've increased library hours and broken ground for a new library in the OMI District. We've opened five new Beacon Schools, with three more on the way, and by the end of the year, we'll have opened 10 new Senior Centrals. Remember the Excelsior Youth Center I promised to build for years ago? It's up and running and serving twice as many kids as we expected. I've cut the ribbons on playgrounds in the Tenderloin, Bernal Heights, Chinatown, Yerba Buena Gardens, and Civic Center and kicked one of the first balls in play at the restored Beach Chalet soccer fields. Some of the best ideas I've received
have come from the citizens of San Francisco and that's why my Open Door
Day has been a highlight for me for the past three-and-a-half years. On
the first Saturday of every month, I invite 25-30 San Franciscans to come
and spend 10 minutes with me in my office. From these sessions, I have
adopted ideas, hired new staffers, made commission appointments, and learned
something new and fascinating from each person. If you haven't come in
to see me, call my office at 554-7111 and they'll let you know how to get
a ticket. I look forward to meeting you.
Insider's Account of Deadly Alcatraz Riot Inside Cell Bock D, six desperate prisoners were determined to shoot their way out of Alcatraz--"the Rock." They held nine guards hostage. Young Ernie Lageson's father, Ernie Lageson, Sr., was among them. The thirteen-year-old Lageson waited in anguish as thousands lined the shores of San Francisco Bay, where U.S. Marines were dropping grenades on Alcatraz Prison. The shelling was a last resort effort to quell the escape attempt that had begun three days earlier. Now, 52 years later, Ernie Lageson, Jr., tells the story in Battle at Alcatraz: A Desperate Attempt to Escape the Rock (Addicus Books, 1999). The May 1946 breakout attempt became international news after inmates broke into the gun gallery, armed themselves and took the guards hostage. When it became clear to the inmates that their escape was foiled, they decided to eliminate all witnesses. They forced the guards into a cell and shot them, leaving them for dead. Miraculously, Ernie Sr. survived and lived to pass the story on to his son. "This is the book my father should have written", said Lageson. "In fact, he had started writing a book, but was never was able to complete it. I always thought the story should be recorded." Ironically, after surviving the prison incident, Ernie Lageson Sr. died of cancer a few years later at 42. Lageson's book describes both how the inmates meticulously planned the escape attempt as well as the three-day siege that resulted. "Looking back, it's amazing close they came to pulling off the escape. Only a minor glitch stopped them. Such an escape was not supposed to happen at Alcatraz," Lageson said. Alcatraz, the federal prison, was closed in 1963, but the "mystique" of Alcatraz lives on. Today, it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in California, with more than one million visitors annually. Battle at Alcatraz
- A Desperate Attempt to Escape the Rock, by Ernie Lageson; Author's Home:
Kensington, CA; 304 pages;
Five Years Ago in the Grapevine JULY 1994 *Members of the Visitacion Valley Task Force released a preliminary draft of a Community Plan addressing housing, safety, youth programs and economic development for the neighborhood. *Geneva Towers and some of its residents were interviewed by CBS on June 5 to be featured as a segment of Eye to Eye with Connie Chung. *Three technical studies, including a Health Risk Assessment, Accident Analysis and Traffic Study were undertaken in conjunction with an environmental impact Report exploring the proposed expansion of the Household Hazardous Waste Facility at 501 Tunnel Ave. *Bay Area rap artists pooled their talents in a rhythmic extravaganza at Local 87 to benefit Girls Against Gangs. *A graduation ceremony was held June 10 for Visitacion Valley Family School's Preschool Program. *Plenty of basketball and dominoes awaited hungry guests on June 25 for a first annual "In Memory Of" barbecue at the Sunnydale housing complex. *Dr. John Flores became the new principal
of Visitacion Valley Middle School under the institution's restructuring
process.
Historic Proportions Match clues to answers. 1980
A. Brazilian Amazon
Answers: 1-Q ; 2-K; 3-B; 4-M; 5-C; 6-A;
7-F; 8-D; 9-E; 10-C; 11-I; 12-H; 13-R; 14-P; 15-O; 16-N; 17-L; 18-G.
Sez Who? Match quotes to speakers. 1. "Give a critic an inch, he'll write
a play."
A. Jimi Hendrix
Answers: 1-C; 2-F; 3-B; 4-A; 5-H; 6-I; 7-D; 8-G; 9-E. |