Workers separating recyclables at the plant.
Photo: SSF Scavengers Website Video
Recyclables- Why separate?
Christina Teani (and 34 others) are wondering;
You know what I’ve always wondered?… Why do they have compartments in the recycling bin to make you separate the paper from the plastic/cans/ bottles…. yet they throw it all together in one pile in the truck… what’s the point of the compartments??? I don’t mind sorting, it’s just I dont understand the logic.
Jacqui Grant Good question!
Julie Bettencourt Cliff i wondered that myself.
Andrew Greenlee I have wondered that same thing. So one morning I got a very close up look at the actual pick up. They are actually emptied into separate compartments. There is a divider between where the cans empty.
Alan Lopez URBAN LEDGEND GOES THAT A MAGICAL RECYCLE FAIRY VISITS ALL THE HOUSES YO MAJE SURE U SEPARATE YOUR PAPER AND CANS AND BY DOING SO SHE WILL GRANT YOU NOTHING AND TROLL YOU IN THE MORNING BY HAVING THE COLLECTORS MIX IT UP
Megan Cresci Most facilities these days are single-stream … But those that aren’t set up for that are dual-stream. I’m surprised SSF Scavengers are still dual-stream. Sometimes the containers just have old labels on them but service providers actually offer single-stream. I’d def check with them. /Long-winded, most likely confusing response.
Sheryl Lopez-Farragher Now here in Daly City, they don’t accept black plastic. Crazy. And ….. no food scraps like in SF. I like SF’s recycling way better. ~
Melissa Wendt Once I realized it all gets dumped into one big truck I no longer separate
Vickie Pfeiffer Same thing was happening here in San Bruno—I never understood that.
Jasmin Sutter The trucks are duel chamber, recycling stays separate when dumped.
Karen Romano In Auburn we don’t separate anything. All goes in one can and then goes on a conveyor belt and a person goes through our garbage & separates it!!
Janice Hsu Stone There is a splitter. It’s not all going into one compartment.
Kevin Walsh Janice Hsu Stone is correct there is an A Fram part in the recycling trucks that separates the recyclables. They are then brought to blue line transfer to be sorted more
Michelle Bissell Morgan This was always something we wondered about before we left
Ron Fornesi The recycling trucks and garbage trucks differ in that the recycling truck has two independent storage compartments and the garbage truck has one. When looking at the trucks from behind, the garbage truck has a single tailgate whereas the recycling truck has two. Paper products are stored behind the wider tailgate and containers are stored behind the narrower tailgate.
The two-sided recycling carts are designed so that when they are turned upside down and emptied into the truck the material from the paper side of the blue cart is directed into the paper side of the truck and the materials from the container side of the blue cart is directed into the container side of the truck. Once full, the separate compartments are emptied in different locations within our facility for further hand sorting.
A dual stream system such as ours makes for a higher quality product when it is recycled especially due to the fact that the paper is not contaminated with broken glass. To the casual observer it may not seem important to separate your materials, but in actuality it is vitally important and we appreciate your continued participation! If anyone would like further information or be interested in a facility tour please do not hesitate to contact us. 589.4020
Ron Fornesi, Operations Manager, South San Francisco Scavenger Company
Everything South City Thanks Ron Fornesi! Greatly appreciate the education – and the services provided! – ESC
Stephen Ward Yeah I’ve wondered about that too. I stopped separating between paper and bottles
Everything South City Here is a YouTube Video done by a local guy showing the trucks picking up recyclables and makes us appreciate a bit more how the drivers must maneuver the trucks for pick ups, especially on courts and windy streets. More information on our South San Francisco Scavengers can be found on their website HERE
