San Francisco Community Recycling (redemption center)

The recycling center on the east side of the Market Street Safeway is a devastating glimpse down into the city's impoverished. Unless you look up the steep cliffs to the Mint, looming, fortified and under renovation to make it even more impenetrable.

Occasional, construction workers can be seen repelling down the cliffs, chipping away at any potential hand-holds starving ninjas might use. Their doing some beautification as well, planting shrubs and palms beneath the barbed-wire.

Meanwhile, lines of shopping-cart pushing homeless trade bags of recyclables for nickels. Unfortunately, they won't even receive tangible money if they've brought too much. If it's more than a couple of bucks, your given a check.

But if you don't have a bank account, doesn't it cost a couple bucks to get that cashed?

At the very least, they measure the cans and bottles by weight, potentially giving higher payback because of the excess liquid.

I've brought my recyclables there twice now. Inside resembles Barter Town from the movie "Mad Max Beyond Thunder Dome," with clanking, breaking, cursing bottles and voices.

The most humanized pigeons I've ever seen rule the foot-level, nibbling at the puddles of booze and cracked syringes. I actually stepped on one of the birds thinking it would move.

The smell is stale beer, steamy asphalt, mold, skin, human shit, fermenting juices of fruit and body fluid.

I've never felt more privileged, never more aware of the ever separating space of rich and poor.

There are no positives.