Sanitation sub-committee

[ihbar]

I would endorse having a 'sanitation & clean-up' subcommittee that would be responsible for cleaning up public space, having trash bags on hand and disposing of them, and having busing trays and dishsoap, etc. to facilitate prompt cleanup and quick dirty-->clean dishes/utensils turnaround

[Emma]

yes! we need to talk about trash!!

I am not particularly part of this WG but came over here to see if anyone was talking about this because it's coming up in lots of discussions from people wanting to help support and from skeptics.

If we need a pricechopper run for trash related supplies or something, lemme know. I've got time & various forms of transportation.

[jules]

Where I go when I need to take a poo in the middle of the night?


This is a serious question

[jules]

I have no comment on whether a sanitation committee is needed, but certainly good sanitation is essential! We can't protest if we're sick.

We need to be vigilant about our food preparation and practices, we need to keep our hands clean (HAND WASH STATIONs), keep our utensils clean (DISH WASH STATIONs), and keep our food clean (SAFE FOOD HANDLING, PREPARATION, TRANSPORT and STORAGE)

This also means we need to be vigilant about waste disposal, especially human waste.

Even if the cops can't shut us down the Health Department CAN.

[ihbar]

I spoke with a women who used to do kitchen duty at rainbow gatherings. She had a lot to say regarding sanitation measures and I went out and bought some of the things we need with FNB funds.

We will have several buckets, filled with warm water, soapy water, bleach, and cold water to wash cups and dishes. We will have a hand-washing station and a basin for the runoff. There are peoples' apartments nearby we can use to exchange water. Large Food-grade containers like pickle buckets would be great to have on hand.

We have trash bags, bleach, dish soap, and cutlery.

Unfortunately, we're probably not going to be able to have a greywater reclamation system (like OWS) ready unless someone REALLY wants to get down on that, like right now.

[jules]

hi ihbar,

rainbow gatherings are a great model because folks set them up in remote locations with limited resources yet manage to safely build a healthy infrastructure.

I have a few different types of dish-wash stations, personally I'm not a fan of dish-wash stations in which you dip a dirty utensil in water already dirty from the last utensil. I'm a big fan of clean water systems, the simplest uses a pump-bulb type foot pump. I would be glad to donate a few of these for us to all use

I've also got some spray bottles, which I like to fill with a 50-100ppm bleach solution, to use as sanitizing solution for hands and surfaces. I also have some bleach test strips for mixing up bleach solutions.

FYI: Bleach sanitizing solution weakens with time and exposure to sunlight, so it's good to test them occasionally and verify they are acceptably strong.

In my experience these are the kind of things the health department will check for.

Sorry for the FB links, but here are some pictures of backwoods dish-wash stations:

www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=o.233802363327392&type=3

peace

[ihbar]

Jules:

wait, you HAVE a foot-pump operated dish-wash station!? That would be ABSOLUTELY OPTIMAL. We could bring other auxilliary supplies and use buckets as basically water-carriers between the park and restaurants/homes where we could fill up water. Spray bottles were mentioned too in the conversation and you should bring those if you have them.

Being versed in chemistry, the degradation of hypochlorite in UV light should not be a problem at all if we are refilling spray bottles at least daily. Getting a good grounding for a test and then making sure that all future fill-ups are sufficiently strong would be a good idea. Better living through chemistry, indeed!

[pinkoblues]

Patrick and some others started a WG in the park a few days ago, but they are in the park, hence, not on the pro boards. This is a situation that we all have to address. Sanitation is the reason being used to crack down on many occupations. I put some feelers out to DGS and the public for removal(For example-anyone with a pickup truck could help). I feel that if we let it be known, people will step up and lend a hand. More than anything people just need to be aware of the issues and problems will be taken care of. We also need to work on food safety. The threat of spreading illness is also a very real concern. If there are any with knowledge about food safety, please share it. Wgs or sub groups are needed and communication between groups is greatly encouraged.

[pinkoblues]

There is also a bathroom map at the front table. Right now we always have access to the concourse. If you gotta go, just ask and someone will show you where to go.

[ihbar]

I am working on better signage to alert and remind people of proper order of food handling:

Hand wash -> grab plates & utensils -> wait in line for food, served by a volunteer wearing gloves and following proper food safety guidelines.

Some foods like crackers or a basket full of bagels could be self-serve.

Originally, it was planned to have a dish-washing, foot-pump stattion for dirty dishes. That's probably not necessary and we can use the foot pumps for hand wash.

All in all, I tried to de-clutter the food table tonight. It looks less like a picnic gone awry, but the signage issue and proper practice is important. It's great that we have so many food donations but we need a space for them to be on a table without knocking over condiments, etc.