From a recycling standpoint, a fire station is a bewildering hybrid: a cross between a house, a restaurant, a hotel and an auto shop, with a temperament ranging from familial to martial.

To successfully establish comprehensive recycling and organics collection programs in its 43 fire stations and additional facilities (training, maintenance and supply), San Francisco relied on the cooperation of several public departments and private service providers. The benefits are already apparent: an estimated 60% reduction in trash weight, an estimated landfill diversion rate of approximately 80%, and an estimated savings in hauling costs of $80,000 in the program's first year.

This success wasn't always a foregone conclusion, however. Propelled in part by its innovative residential and commercial food scraps recycling programs, San Francisco surpassed its 50% landfill diversion goal in 2001 and has set its sights on 75% diversion by 2010. San Francisco's own municipal government, however, found itself lagging uncomfortably behind its commercial and residential sectors, in terms of achieving the city's initial goal of 50% diversion.

This discrepancy led to the view that the city should demonstrate leadership through its own exemplary waste reduction and recycling behavior. Meanwhile, to add urgency to the matter, the city's board of supervisors directed city departments to cut expenses, specifying recycling and composting as valuable tools for helping to achieve this aim.

To the San Francisco Department of the Environment, the fire department seemed a logical place to redouble efforts as it had a city-wide network of nearly 50 stations that, unlike most government offices, produces relatively large amounts of food scraps. An ambitious goal was set: The San Francisco Fire Department would become the first large city fire department in the United States to implement a comprehensive recycling program, including food scraps.

Team approach

The City of San Francisco turned for technical assistance to Applied Compost Consulting of Oakland, Calif., a firm that has been contracted since 1996 by the city to provide technical assistance in commercial recycling and composting program implementation, as well as to help evaluate various methods for the collection of residentially-generated trash, recyclables and organics.

Together, the San Francisco Department of the Environment and Applied Compost Consulting conferred with fire department leadership and Golden Gate Disposal & Recycling, the local permitted hauler, to discuss the logistics, potential obstacles and benefits involved with implementing a department-wide recycling program for conventional recyclables (glass, metal, paper and plastic) and compostables (food scraps, landscape trimmings, and soiled non-recyclable paper).

Waste generation assessments revealed an excess of service volume for trash at almost all of the fire stations. In addition, a large amount of recyclable material and compostables were observed in the trash bins. Waste characterization estimates of disposed waste were made based on cursory visual observations of trash containers: food scraps, 40%; bottles/cans, 15%; mixed paper/recyclable cardboard, 30%; miscellaneous trash, 15%.

Capt. James Lee, support services division, recognized the value of the recycling plan early on: “The fire stations have more trash service and less recycling service than they need. This new recycling program is easy to understand, and it's going to save the department and the city real money.”

Because of these conditions, it was possible to recommend a decrease in trash service, an increase in recycling service and the addition of collection service for compostable materials. In San Francisco, conventional recyclables are collected by Norcal Waste Systems at no additional charge, and compostables are collected at about a 25% discount from the trash rate.

“Our program succeeded because several important elements came together seamlessly,” says Julia Chang, city government facilities recycling coordinator. “We had top-level support at the fire department, and Norcal was able to work out a pick-up schedule for 50 new accounts in record time.”

From the top

Past attempts to include individual fire stations in the city's food scraps recycling program had overlooked the strict hierarchy of fire departments and had met with limited success. This time, the department's top commanders were cultivated from the outset, and the city's mandated budget reduction goals were used as motivation.

The department brass issued a general order that directed all department personnel to participate in recycling training sessions and to follow specific guidelines:

• Dispose of conventional recyclables only in the recycling bin.
• Dispose of compostable materials only in the compost bin.
• Dispose of non-recyclable, non-compostable trash only in the trash bin.
• Secure all refuse bins and ensure that only materials generated at fire stations be disposed on site.

At the beginning of each training session, Lee introduced the training team and read the general order out loud to the firefighters. This demonstration of support from the department's command structure legitimized, in the firefighters' eyes, the information and recommendations provided by these “outside experts.”

Instead of having to convince each firefighter, station by station, Applied Compost Consulting and the San Francisco Department of the Environment could simply convey this message: “The department says you're going to recycle these materials. We are here to show you how.” They then were able to take the firefighters through the training process, teaching new habits, replacing old habits with new, and reinforcing the newly learned behaviors with follow-up training.

The department-wide approach also addressed 24-on/48-off staffing with frequent transfer between stations. The transient nature of station assignments necessitated the use of consistent signage, bin colors and materials-handling protocols at all fire stations. A training schedule of three consecutive days per station was devised to maximize the chances that each firefighter would receive the training.

In addition, the San Francisco Department of the Environment provided the fire stations with several essential tools and services:

• Staff time for conducting presentations and training sessions and coordinating efforts.
• Applied Compost Consulting's outreach, training and education services.
• Color-coded bins, posters and labels. Blue is used for conventional recycling, green for compostables and black for trash.
• Plastic containers, lids and a telephone number for the collection of used batteries from walkie-talkies, radios and other fire station equipment.
• Literature about how to recycle and properly handle other materials.

Training sessions

More than 360 firefighters were trained at more than 40 fire stations and related facilities during May, June and July of 2003. The recycling training sessions consisted of in-person presentations by Applied Compost Consulting and San Francisco Department of the Environment staff. They explained in detail what materials were acceptable in the conventional recycling bin, the new compostables bin and the trash bin, and how other items commonly used around the firehouse could be disposed in a more responsible manner.

To be successful at changing behavior, education must address the details of daily life. As in any home environment, firefighters form close-knit groups that are hospitable and polite toward outsiders but are also wary of strangers and protective of their property, space and home values such as cleanliness and household budgets. “Recycling is great and I totally support it, but we have to be careful,” cautioned firefighter Cynthia Rickert during a question-and-answer session.

An effective recycling plan for fire stations has to deal with the internal restaurant contained within each station. The daily preparation of three meals and snacks for up to 20 firefighters generates large volumes of food scraps. The firefighters' concerns about space limitations in kitchens mirrored those of many chefs in small restaurants. “This recycling program requires more total bins,” says Lt. Bill Schaeffer. “Some of the smaller stations don't have the space. How are they going to store and move all these bins around?” Some solutions are cost-effective and readily available, such as providing smaller or narrower bins for use in tight spaces.

Likewise, an effective fire station recycling plan must address apparatus maintenance. On the equipment floors, large vehicles and diesel engines are cleaned and maintained regularly, generating hazardous materials, including cleaning solvents, hydraulic fluid, motor oil, gear oil, diesel fuel, gasoline, fire retardant chemicals and batteries. During training, it became apparent that stations could benefit from information on properly handling shop towels by having them cleaned off-site by an outside vendor.

Other materials generated by the department include lumber, sheetrock, pallets, bricks and scrap metal. The training division requires special attention to its operations, for it generates heavy materials from the structures and salvaged vehicles that it uses for practicing fire suppression and rescue operations.

Benefits evaluation

After the training, Applied Compost Consulting made follow-up visits to all the fire stations to ensure that the program was functioning well and to answer any questions that had arisen. During these visits, firefighters had the chance to air other concerns.

“This recycling is all well and good and I support it, but who is benefiting from all the work we are doing?” asked Capt. Mike Bryant. “We have a lot to do every day and now they are asking us to separate stuff out. The department saves money, that's great! … What about us? The benefits have to trickle down to the firefighters, somehow.”

Responses to such questions came from the same sessions. “I think we should take this recycling program seriously, not just for us, but for our kids and the next generation,” said firefighter Ken Martin. “I know that some firefighters think that this recycling thing is just too much hassle, but we have to find ways to make it work.”

After the initial training phase, the results were evaluated. The average department-wide landfill diversion rate had climbed from 30% before the start of the comprehensive recycling program to an estimated 80%. It also was confirmed that the service volume adjustments for trash and recycling would result in significant savings in disposal costs. The projections for the fire department were encouraging: an estimated savings of $80,000 during the first year; a 60% reduction in annual trash weight (over 120 tons); and a greatly increased landfill diversion rate, predominantly from the collection of organics.

San Francisco is well on its way to harnessing the power of its fire department as a leader for its municipal recycling programs. By implementing a comprehensive recycling program, the San Francisco Fire Department is sending the message that recycling is important, and that it can be accomplished as part of firefighters' daily routine, even under the stressful conditions of a demanding and dangerous job. It is anticipated that this program will encourage other city departments to recycle more.

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Steven Sherman is president of Applied Compost Consulting. He can be reached at 510-985-8366 or compost@LMI.net.