Are they Or aren’t they? That is the question.
By Judi Curry
I received a phone call this morning telling me that the recycling center at Pat’s Liquor Store at 5096 Voltaire was closed. That there was a YELP review that said it had been closed for awhile, and there was no place left to recycle cans, bottles and plastic left in Ocean Beach.
I told my caller that I didn’t think that was right; that the “YELP” review was probably referring to the old recycling center next to Stumps. She thought I was wrong.
So, I called Pat’s Liquor and had a delightful conversation with Basil, the owner of the liquor store, who said that the recycling center was very definitely open, from 11:00am to 5:00pm six days a week.
He said that unlike the complaints from neighbors near Stumps about the people returning the recyclable items, the new center in his parking lot really is aiding the community.
The items being recycled are not being tossed into the gutters; it is helping the environment; and people are receiving a small amount of cash back for their effort. After all, we paid a recycling fee – why not get that back?
Just in case you think I was wrong – I hung up the phone and took my recycles down to the center. And yes, they were open, and the extra $50 I received will certainly help out with holiday gift buying. Might even stop off next time and purchase something from Basil.
Happy recycled holidays.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow Jack. Pretty harsh comments . There are many of us that utilize the recycling center that are not drunks, drug addicts , Or squatters.
For the sake of those who need a local redemption center to put food in their mouths, I hope this place survives. But I gave up on it a several months ago.
When I heard it was there I tried to find a website to get the hours of operation. There was (and is today) none. So I did a quick flyby on my bike to scope it out. I saw they were open and noted the posted hours. I returned a few days later with a full pickup truck and ran into the first obstacle – no parking onsite. Luckily I found street parking not too far away and made a mental note to next time bring a hand cart for the heavy trash cans full of glass. All went well. Not a long wait, friendly staff and the amount paid seemed to be a little more than what I had been getting at Stumps for a similar load.
A month or so later I showed up fully loaded at the supposed open time and they were closed. I waited 20 minutes then went inside Pat’s to investigate. The owner was very nice but made it clear it was not his enterprize (the recyclers lease the back of the property from him) and he was also frustrated with them. I went home and came back an hour later on the bike. They were closed but staff were there behind the gate. I peeked over and asked when they would be open. They said noon so I returned with my truck at 1:00. They were still closed. I killed an hour running errands and returned to find them open. While we were weighing my stuff I asked why they do not have a website. One of them gave me a phone number.
The next time (also about a month later) I called the number and it just rang. No voicemail. I did another bike reconnaissance and saw they were open. I raced home and loaded the truck in order to get back before the situation went unstable again. I got there and had to park on the other side of Voltaire and up the block a bit. Luckily I had my hand truck for the heavy stuff. I made six trips back and forth and waited in a short line. When it was my turn they saw my glass and said they were not doing bottles that day. Something about the container being full and a truck not making it on schedule. I asked if they could weigh me out and store the bottles in their blue cans. They rudely said “we do not do IOU’s” which kind of missed the point. So I got paid for the plastic and aluminum cans and wheeled my bottles back to the truck.
And that was it. I have not been back. Old reliable Miramar it is. Luckily so far I have been able combine the drive there with other trips. Again I hope this place makes it. For those who go often as pedestrians it is a flawed, but essential, service.
I don’t think I’ll go back. No parking on site, and had to wait in line behind a scavenger that had about 20 trash cans full! Not worth the hassle.
Maybe I’ll just go back to throwing them in the gutter, lol. Come on Prince, let’s not pretend recyclables end up in the gutter or even the trash. You are providing a means to redeem our CRV sure, but you aren’t saving the planet. Everyone has access to a blue bin. You know, the ones the scavengers raid every sunday to bring to your place.
What are the on recycling center hours?