Numerous shopping carts overflowing with cans and bottles rattle towards the Recycling Center at the Castro Safeway everyday. George Warren steers his glass and plastic collection to the center three times a week to make the money he needs to get by.
The center is facing an eviction that will shut it down this summer, cutting off the only source of income for Warren and many others. Warren fears the looming closure and sees the eviction as a push to get rid of the poor population in the neighborhood.
“I don’t condone what rich people do. Not to be rich, but the code that they live by. They put money above everything else,” Warren said.
San Francisco Community Recyclers continues to evade the eviction that will close the recycling center located in the corner of the parking lot of Safeway at 2020 Market St. in June. The eviction has sparked outcry from local recyclers and homeless advocates. Safeway Corporation issued the eviction in August 2013 but the center has managed to hang on since.
This is the second eviction battle San Francisco Community Recyclers Executive Director Ed Dunn has faced in the past year. He also managed the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council (HANC) recycling center, which was forced to close down in January 2013.
As with the HANC center, Dunn won’t let this one go down without a fight. “We’re supposed to get out now by June 30,” Dunn said, “They originally wanted to kick us out in September [2013].”
Dunn, along with homeless advocates and recycling center customers, has led the opposition against Safeway’s eviction. “We have had some direct action here on site, with the picket line with people shouting ‘cans not condos’ and we have had the ongoing petition online.” Dunn said, “I believe the petition is backed by just under 2,000 signatures.”
The center serves as a source of income for many poor and homeless San Franciscans in the area. According to Dunn, the center does between 200 and 300 customer transactions everyday.
Dunn believes Safeway’s intention to close down the center is a sign of gentrification in the Castro District. Unlike the less fortunate customers that have been using the center for the past three decades, the wealthy population moving in have little need for a buy-back recycling system.
“You know people buying million dollar condos probably aren’t going to want their nickel back,” Dunn said.
Anita Hernandez, a Market Street Safeway customer, thinks the recycling center is good for everyone in the community. “It helps the homeless but it also helps the poor, struggling people that need money sometimes. And they pick up the recycling when other people leave it around streets and the parks.”
A member of the Safeway security team who asked to remain anonymous believes closing the center will be a positive step for the area. “Homeless not only mess, but sometimes they harass people,” he said. “This is a nice neighborhood. Everybody wants it safe and clean.”
He is not alone in his support of the eviction. Supervisor Scott Wiener has publicly backed Safeway’s efforts in this issue since the beginning. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to address the eviction at a hearing on April 17.
Despite the strongly supported eviction, Dunn is nowhere near ready to give up. He plans to take action in the days to come and maintains a positive outlook on the situation. “’They’re analyzing all their options’ was her quote, the [Safeway] spokesperson, which is different than ‘we’re kicking them out’,” Dunn said.
George Warren, along with many other recycling center frequenters, doubts Safeway can be convinced to call off the eviction. “I kind of wish they wouldn’t close it down because it is convenient for me to work the mission and then you know, come on up over here,” he said. “But they don’t see that.”
Click here for Ed Dunn’s MoveOn Petition.
Planet Castro 