The recycling department office and main center of operations are located on the Ocean Campus. Under Building and Grounds the Recycling Department develops, coordinates and administers programs and advises policies within the area of sustainable waste management. The department oversees the infrastructure, collection, storage, disposal and analysis of all District recycling and compost material logistics and regulates services to ensure program compliance with city and state ordinances.

Principal Objectives Include

• Provide technical assistance and program support services to each center for recycling and composting.
• Conduct comprehensive outreach information and zero waste trainings and workshops- available to students, staff & faculty.
• Implement zero waste infrastructure
• Provide educational materials and signage
• Contact the recycling department to request training, workshops signage or services.

Sustainable Materials Management

The amount of municipal solid waste, one of the most important by-products of an urban lifestyle, is growing faster than the rate of urbanization. Ten years ago urban residents generated about 2.6lbs of MSW per person per day. Today these amounts have increased to 3.8lbs per person per day in the U.S.

This CCSF waste stream includes a large range of materials comprised of over 2000 tons of various items annually The recycling department has collected and reported data on the college generation and disposal of waste for more than 15 years. We use this information to measure the success of our programs.

The values of sustainable waste management and the policy directive from the city of San Francisco’s Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance, guide the City College San Francisco waste management strategy. This ordinance requires everyone in San Francisco to properly separate recyclables and compostables and keep them out of the landfill. San Francisco currently diverts 80 percent of what it throws away from the landfill and is trying to become the first city with Zero Waste -set for 2020.

With such a large population spanning throughout our college centers city wide; CCSF plays a pivotal role in attaining the goals of San Francisco.

Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot, Rethink

The college recycling department emphasizes:

Refusing what you do not need (such as single-use items),

Reduce what we need and that cannot be refused,

Reuse what we consume and that we cannot either refuse or reduce,

Recycle what we cannot either refuse, reduce, or reuse,

Rot by composting what remains, and

Rethink your waste and consumption habits.

Close the loop through the purchase of products with recycled and compostable content.

Each person’s participation in the various center-recycling programs will advance the college closer toward the goals of a sustainable Zero Waste college community.

So Rethink the system and contribute toward zero waste!