Supes Want to Save Old-Timey Recycling Lair

Like so many things in San Francisco, the Haight-Ashbury Neighborhood Council Recycling Center made sense in past decades, but has outlived its usefulness.

At least, that's the position of the City, which wants the recyclers out of Golden Gate Park. The City wants to turn the property into a community garden.

Not so fast, says the board of supervisors. They narrowly voted Wednesday to oppose the eviction, and asked the Rec and Park department to negotiate with the recyclers. That's unlikely to happen, since the resolution is non-binding, according to the Bay Citizen.

Another alternative has been proposed by the department of the environment. The center could go mobile. They could give up their land and switch instead to trucks that drive around to pick up recyclables. You know, just like that service that the City already has.

The recyclers could also pursue another line of work: servicing the redemption machines that grocery stores may be required to install. Leaders with the recycling center dismissed those suggestions, saying that the recycling machines are not commercially available, a claim that may sound strange to anyone who's been to one of the many stores that have them.

The Rec and Park Department, meanwhile, has indicated that it will have the sheriff forcibly remove the center if necessary.