top of page

Process

The issue of FOG waste starts in the kitchen and follows the flow of sanitary drainage: from the street to waste control plant and finally to the bay.

Most people love to talk about food. What happens after the meal typically gets less attention.

San Jose Environmental Services do an incredible job maintaining the vital city infrastructure. However, this work is largely invisible to city residents.

At the waste control plant, water is treated through multiple processes. FOG waste ultimately ends up in the nearby city landfill.

Crucial to the design process, community meetings create a discussion between city residents, the city, and the artists. The discussion revolves around food, waste infrastructure, and best practices.

Common food items are discussed and waste "recipe" cards are developed.

When a backup does occur, there are different consequences depending on the location within the system, starting at the scale of the home and building to the scale of the region. The goal is to detect problems before they reach the greatest scale, with the greatest potential damage.

Maps of the city waste infrastructure show the scale of the problem and allow residents to trace from their home to the waste control plant, and finally to the bay.

The initial matrix of proposals is vetted and discussed among multiple audiences: at the community level, and among an array of city departments including the Department of Transportation, Public Art, and Environmental Services.

A new set of icons is under development to highlight the work that the city does: making manholes a piece of civic art and connecting them to the infrastructure that they hide.

During regular sanitary sewer cleanings, posters and postcards connect the graphics in the street to best practices in the kitchen.

Service workers' trucks connect the work they are doing to best practices in resident's kitchens.

Holidays and festivals are used to create a linkage between kitchens and the hidden city infrastructure.

Citizens, already participating, are encouraged to deepen the discussion sharing techniques and best practices.

© 2023 by Johan Cage. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page