Facility Recycles 2,100 Tons per Day

Recycle Central, a 200,000 square-foot facility, officially opened March 5, 2003. San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and Norcal Waste Systems, Inc. President Mike Sangiacomo officiated at the opening and threw the switch to power up the $38 million plant, which is permitted to sort and bale up to 2,100 tons of recyclables a day.

Recycle Central is located on Pier 96 in San Francisco's Bay View District and brings the most effective mechanical systems for sorting recyclables under one roof. Recyclables in this 200,000-square-foot plant are separated using a combination of specialized equipment and hand sorting. Sorted materials are baled and loaded into cargo containers for shipment to paper mills, glass plants and manufac-turing facilities that produce new consumer goods from yesterday's discards.

San Francisco's recycling program makes recycling easy and convenient. People simply place paper, bottles and cans together in a blue cart. No more sorting paper from bottles and cans at home or work. Instead, recyclables are separated at Recycle Central.

San Francisco's Board of Supervisors has set a goal of achieving 75 percent recycling citywide by 2010. Recycle Central provides the industrial sorting systems necessary for San Francisco to process its own recyclables and divert hundreds of thousands of tons of recyclable materials from landfills.