Am I crazy to love a place because of how they handle their trash? I know that everyone says Disneyland is clean, but the Safari Park takes it to a whole ‘nother level. And it may be because of its primary message of conservation and preservation of wildlife.
This whole post got started because I really looked at their cement trash containers one day and realized they’re beautiful. In fact, I’m planning on interpreting the border design in a polymer clay cane and will probably incorporate it into some necklaces and focal beads (just my way of making trash into art). But let’s get back to why I think Safari Park’s cleaner than Disneyland and why.
The Safari Park has major cleanliness challenges. Not only do they have to contend with crowds of visitors and their debris, but they also have tons of rather odoriferous animal waste.
The critter waste is constantly being collected by their keepers. Even the elephant exhibits usually have a nice odor about them – a truly amazing feat. And having a local farm compost the mountain of manure is an elegant solution to what might have been an environmental problem.
The park has long stretches of dirt paths like the isolated Garden and Tiger trails which could easily accumulate trash just from the strong winds that are a frequent feature of the San Pasqual Valley weather. But amazingly you rarely see even a scrap of windblown plastic bag there. Such tidiness has got to be primarily the result of an army of dedicated workers who deserve praise for their very effective efforts.