June 23, 2009

SF Cleans Up Around the 'Hood

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Not only is Organic getting greener,  the company is giving back to the community through flash local actions - minus the glam factor because picking up trash doesn't count as edgy street stuff yet. To honor the Summer Solstice, twenty fearless San Francisco Organics took to the streets on Monday June 22, 2009 at noon. The goal? Clean up a four-block area around the building where Organic offices are located in San Francisco's financial district. This 20-minute makeover was directly inspired by Toronto's Organic office activity for Earth Day 2009 (http://allhands.organic.com/2009/04/toronto-20-minu.html). To make it worth the trash collection effort, the Green Team went scouting the streets on the previous Friday and handed out yellow highlighted maps of the area, together with trash bags and gloves.

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From noon to 12.20 pm (even later for a rogue section of the Finance team who got carried away by their findings), Organic employees bent over to clean up real street trash, focusing around the Transbay Terminal which is the local hub for Greyhound buses. Fortunately the day was sunny and warm, a rare occurrence for a San Francisco summer day and an auspicious sign, surely.

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Sixteen trash bags later (some people shared), three comments echoed by most participants:

-          San Francisco is the caricature of healthy living and smoke-free environments - why so many cigarette butts on the streets? Aren't there enough trash cans?

-          Planter boxes are not trash cans - sounds obvious but really, it isn't

-          Chicken bones on the pavement: someone actually staged a Summer Solstice ceremony with druids?


As a conclusion, all employees who took part decided that we should do it again. Not just them actually. At the Transbay Terminal, a MUNI bus driver noticed the trash bags and walked over for info. When he learned that Organic employees were doing their share for the environment, he exclaimed "We need more of you guys! Come back, that's great."

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June 23, 2009 7:06 AM | | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

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2 Comments

Hope said:

Go SF Organic! What a great, much needed outing. I am always saddened at how dirty the streets of our beautiful city are. Thanks for making a difference!

July 2, 2009 7:29 PM
Penn Roddy said:

I very much had fun reading your blog. Please don't stop with this amazing achievement. Thanks!

February 24, 2010 4:42 PM

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