Mountains of trash rise after 4/20 pot party in S.F.

Even though city officials say they were ahead of last year's cleanup efforts, workers still faced heaps of trash at Golden Gate Park. Even though city officials say they were ahead of last year's cleanup efforts, workers still faced heaps of trash at Golden Gate Park. Photo: Lacy Atkins, SFC Buy photo Photo: Lacy Atkins, SFC Image 1 of / 38 Caption Close Mountains of trash rise after 4/20 pot party in S.F. 1 / 38 Back to Gallery

After the masses departed and the smoke cleared, workers descended Monday on Golden Gate Park to bag up and truck away all that was left behind by those who celebrated the pot holiday of 4/20 - an annual event that again tested the patience of some residents and city leaders.

While thousands enjoyed Sunday's informal smoke-out, police arrested 11 people around Sharon Meadow, and paramedics tended to four others. Traffic in the area was jammed all day. And officials estimated the cleanup cost would exceed last year's tab.

"Our goal is to provide clean, fun, safe parks, and there's a lot about this event that certainly isn't safe, and it's certainly not clean," said Phil Ginsburg, the general manager of the city park department, as he watched employees scoop up piles of trash.

"This meadow isn't designed for a crowd that size," he said. "Until every piece of trash is picked up, it won't be safe for people to play here."

Last year, Recreation and Park Department employees and volunteers were overwhelmed by the heaps of trash left by the hordes of marijuana lovers. To get a jump on the cleanup this year, a crew of about 20 people were out Sunday night picking up broken glass, cardboard and piles of barbecue coals burnt into Sharon Meadow and Hippie Hill.

350 bags

About 40 volunteers from Green Cross, a San Francisco medical cannabis dispensary, also sought to lessen the impact of the event, bringing in trash cans and asking visitors to be responsible. The volunteers carted away about 350 bags of trash Sunday, said Holli Bert, a spokeswoman for the club.

"We heard all the stories about what a state of disaster the park was left in last year," she said. "We wanted to take the initiative to make sure that didn't happen again."

Still, early Monday, 40 city workers gathered with trash bags, rakes and shovels, scooping up the refuse of several thousand people who converged from all corners of the state.

"We're ahead of the game over last year," said Golden Gate Park Director Eric Andersen about 7:30 a.m. "We had a lot of resources overnight."

Park officials estimated last year's cleanup cost about $10,000. Because 4/20 happened on a weekend day again this year - the 2013 event fell on a Saturday - officials said cleanup costs could go higher. Next year, April 20 falls on a Monday.

Police were out in force Sunday patrolling the outskirts of the park. Officers arrested 11 people on suspicion of crimes including selling pot and gun possession, and issued more than 200 warnings to illegal vendors, campers and people with open alcohol containers, said San Francisco police Sgt. Danielle Newman.

Paramedics were called when a 20-year-old overdosed at the Sharon Building, police said. The person's condition was not known Monday.

Officials noted that trying to enforce every law broken at the event was virtually impossible, so safety became the primary focus of Sunday's patrols.

'Show some respect'

After threatening to shut down the 4/20 party last year, Supervisor London Breed, whose district includes Golden Gate Park, said last week that she wouldn't be a "buzzkill or judge anybody's recreational activity" as long as everyone was safe and respectful.

On Monday, she said the city had been better prepared to handle the crowds and trash. All that preparation, though, came at a price, with the cleanup bill in addition to overtime policing and other costs to the city.

"I don't have a problem with marijuana," Breed said. "The problem is the alcohol, the violence and all the other things that come along with this event. This is San Francisco. We want folks to come and enjoy but show some respect."

But reining in an unsanctioned event is a challenge. Because 4/20 celebrates marijuana smoking, organizers can't apply for a permit. Smoking of any kind is not allowed in parks.

"For a fully permitted event, they bring Porta Potties, security, and the place is spotless when everyone leaves," Andersen said.

While the revelry that takes place every April 20 may be an integral part of a San Francisco subculture, the frustrations from those who clean up the mess is mounting. Police, park and city officials plan to meet in coming weeks to discuss lessons from this year's event.

The Green Cross, meanwhile, hopes to encourage other volunteers to help out during future events in order to take the burden off the city, Bert said.

"We think it's unfortunate that it has such a negative impact on the city. We wish it wasn't that way," she said. "We don't want it to reflect negatively on the medical cannabis community. We wanted to make a difference."