Recycling Partnership with Conservation Corps North Bay

A Conservation Corps member empties public areas recycling into a blue toter, to be collected by Recology for recycling.

Photo from National Park Service

In 2021, Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), served 13.7 million visitors. An additional 657,000 people visited Muir Woods and 947,000 visited Fort Point alone in the same year. GGNRA is one of the largest national parks in an urban area. One byproduct of high visitation at our sites is that in 2021 our crews collected 3,612,841 pounds of municipal solid waste (recycling and trash) in the park. National Park Service (NPS) crews lack the staffing resources and time to sort the waste from the public bins prior to disposal, and an expanded partnership with Conservation Corps North Bay is helping to supplement their efforts.

Conservation Corps North Bay (CCNB) now collects recycling in both Marin and San Francisco sites of GGNRA, with new funding from the National Park Foundation (NPF). These recycling efforts will help increase the amount of waste diverted from landfills and assist NPS crews.

In Fiscal Year 2021, GGNRA diverted 35% of recycling from the landfill.

Image from National Park Service

GGNRA has a goal of diverting 75% of our waste from landfills, and the 2021 grant from NPF will help the CCNB increase the amount of recycling collected. CCNB has been an excellent park partner in Marin County for decades, collecting recycling at all the popular visitor destinations. Originally its work was funded by the State of California, but that support ended 8 years ago.

The recent grant from the NPF, entitled “Improve Public Areas Recycling with Youth Recycling Stewards Partnership” allows CCNB not only to continue the recycling collection in Marin but to expand to three additional park sites in San Francisco County: Crissy Field, Fort Mason's Great Meadow, and the Baker Beach picnic area. The recycling service includes weekly recycling throughout the year with an additional day of service during the high-volume seasons.

Together with CCNB, GGNRA can additionally achieve other goals:

1. Improve signage with standard colors and consistent labels with pictures;
2. Reassess bin placement and quantity to reduce overflow and improve high traffic areas;
3. Provide public education via social media, events, and wayside displays.

About Conservation Corps North Bay:
CCNB is a local nonprofit 40-year-old organization that engages and empowers youth by teaching them to preserve the environment essential for resilient, sustainable, and equitable communities. Most of its youth enter the program without a high school diploma or prior work experience, with some having been previously incarcerated, and most from extremely low-income households. Through this program youth can serve on critical local environmental projects as well as advancing their academic and social skills.

About the National Park Foundation:
The National Park Foundation is the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service, generating private support and building strategic partnerships to protect and enhance America’s national parks for present and future generations. They provide grants to national parks in several areas of key importance, in particular Resilience and Sustainability, helping parks meet the goals of the NPS Green Parks Plan and the Federal Sustainability Plan.

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