Tour # 1

San Mateo County MRF/Transfer Station Tour
San Mateo County is home to over 700,000 residents with nearly 20K businesses and generates 1 million tons of waste annually.  County Cities are working hard to recycle and this tour will visit the two largest MRF/transfer stations that are the keystones to the County’s recycling and waste management infrastructure.

Blue Line Transfer, Inc. is situated on 10 acres of bay waterfront. The 100,000 square foot state-of -the-art MRF/transfer station services the recycling and waste management needs of northern San Mateo County cities. This tour will showcase the Company’s C&D sort line; a wood and yard waste processing area and;  a sort line for waste coming from San Francisco Airport and commercial, multi-family and self haul customers.  Also, tour the 4R Learning Center featuring exhibits on recycling, reuse and an installation by the award winning Goddess of Garbage and a solar installation that will provide 45% of the facilities energy needs (scheduled for installation this spring).  The tour will end with a walk along the bay trail.

There are big plans for the Shoreway Environmental Center in San Carlos!  Visit the existing MRF/transfer station that handles 1,500 tons of materials per day and learn about the plans to re-engineer this facility into a state-of-the-art recycling center.  Construction will begin in 2008 and will include the design of a new 2-acre MRF with all-new single stream processing equipment, a new 2-acre transfer station, and incorporation of sustainable design features throughout.

Tour # 2

Green Building Tour
The Green Building Tour will feature two exemplary green designed facilities.  The County of San Mateo Forensic Lab is one of the first LEED Silver buildings in the Bay Area.  This 29,000 sq. ft. steel framed, modern laboratory is the largest solar electric project in the County (the half acre of panels produce 234 kilowatts or 80% of the facility’s energy requirements). Come see why this project inspired the County Board of Supervisors to require all County buildings to be LEED certified.  A candidate for gold-level LEED, the Nueva School Hillside Learning Complex is a 24,000 sq. ft. building featuring living-roof.  The roof serves a dual purpose - it helps the environment by insulating the building and creating new habitats for wildlife, and it also serves as a learning environment for students to study local plant life and research butterfly habitats.” See how this award winning building combines green building and green teaching and capitalizes on the climate of its location.

Tour # 3

Construction and Demolition Recycling Tour
To promote the recycling of construction materials, many County cities enacted Construction and Demolition Recycling Ordinances. This tour will showcase two locations that play a pivotal role in recycling construction materials (inerts and metals). Granite Rock recycles and sells recycled asphalt and concrete and base-rock. These materials are used throughout the County in new asphalt roads, parking lots, and sidewalks.

The neighboring company, Sims Metal recycles iron and steel, including appliances, scrap metal, pipe and rebar. The shredder is a “huge blue beast with a conveyor about the size of a city block”.  After grinding, Sims process equipment separates aluminum, ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Please note that closed-toe, sturdy shoes are required for the Construction and Demolition Tour.

Tour # 4

San Francisco International Airport Green Business Tour
San Mateo is home to business innovation and county businesses are taking green innovation seriously, including the San Francisco International Airport (SFO), which has become a leader in environmental stewardship.  SFO has taken a comprehensive approach to its sustainability initiatives including being a leader in airport waste reduction and recycling initiatives. With over 30 million passengers passing through SFO annually, the airport has huge challenges in terms of implementing solid waste and recycling programs. In spite of this, SFO has implemented many innovative waste reduction and recycling programs including a source separation program to capture bottles, cans and mixed paper; an organics recycling program for all of the restaurants in the terminals; commingled separation of domestic waste from all compactors at the Blue Line Transfer Station; and phasing out of non-recyclable or expanded polystyrene containers in food service areas. Go behind the scenes to see how the recycling collection areas are organized. You will discover the lessons learned in setting up an airport wide recycling program. 

Also see first hand how some of the businesses in the airport are operating using sustainable measures and complying with the requirements to become certified as a Green Business.  Tour will include visiting several businesses that have been certified or are in the process. You will see businesses that have adopted innovative technologies and business practices that include waste prevention and recycling, water and energy conservation, and pollution prevention measures. Incentives for businesses include a $100 rebate per month to those that become certified green businesses. 

Also learn of the other initiatives the airport has implemented, including greening their fleet, and other planned environmental initiatives.