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This article focuses on the San Francisco Solid Waste Transfer and Recycling Center. It has given more than 50 "artists in residence" on-site studio space, a monthly stipend, and 24-hour access to the 75 tons of old appliances, worn clothing, construction debris, and other garbage that households and businesses discard each day. The pioneering program was founded in part to help the city meet a state requirement to keep half its waste out of landfills. By recycling, composting, and reusing, San Francisco, California, is now up to 67 percent and shooting for 75 percent by 2010. Displays of the artists' work in local schools and public spaces, as well as in the dump's own sculpture garden, keep the city's garbage, and its alternate uses, in sight and on people's minds. Participants have found inspiration in everything from foam packing to fire escapes. With such a wealth of materials at residents' disposal, there's always a long list of artists waiting to dive in.

Presents an update on the Sierra Club as of January 2002. Activities for young students from Ashland at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Recipients of several awards from the Sierra Club; Donation given by the cast of the sitcom 'The Brady Bunch' to the Sierra Club Foundation and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

The article offers news briefs related to environmental protection. The city of San Francisco has approved a law banning the use of plastic shopping bags in grocery stores in the United States. Patagonia widened its Polartec-fleece-recycling program. Paul Tukey is advocating the conversion of a million acres of lawn to organic by 2010.

The article presents information about innovative ways that people in the recycling industry are devising to use waste products. TerraCycle Inc.'s natural plant foods use worm castings as raw material. The company's products are packaged in used soda bottles. The dung of two cellulose fiber eating animals, Welsh sheep and Sri Lankan elephants, is enlisted as a source of pulp for manufacturing paper products. The city of San Francisco, California is testing a way to turn dog droppings into a source of power.

The article reports that environmentalist John Perry and some of his friends from San Francisco, California have decided not to buy anything new for one year. This commitment, which is known as "Compact," is their personal stand against rampant consumption and waste. Their idea has attracted more than a thousand participants worldwide and some angry critics. Discussing the strategy and exemptions for essentials like food John said that he was a recreational shopper therefore, it has been challenging to think about what he needs instead of just shifting his consumption habits to secondhand goods.