Date: June 9, 2009
Source: City of San Francisco
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has passed a mandatory composting law that is believed to be the strictest such ordinance in the nation. Residents will be required to have three color-coded trash bins, for trash, recycling, and compost. Residents and businesses that fail to recycle or compost the appropriate waste could be fined. San Francisco, which boasts a recycling rate of 72%, has aggressively pursued green initiatives such as banning plastic bags at supermarkets. The city eventually wants to eliminate all waste going to landfills by 2020.
Robert Reed, a spokesman for Recology (formerly Norcal Waste), said that waste collectors will not pick through anyone's garbage. Rather, if workers notice recyclables from bins being emptied, they will leave "a love note" alerting the customer of non-compliance.
A moratorium on imposing fines will end in 2010, after which repeat offenders like individuals and small businesses generating less than a cubic yard of refuse a week face fines of up to $100. Businesses that don't provide the proper containers face a $500 fine. Last week, a caller to National Public Radio complained that even well-meaning customers are likely to be punished for something they already poorly understand.
Press Release:
Mayor Newsom Praises Board of Supervisors for Passage of Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance
Measure is Key to Reaching 75% Landfill Diversion
06/09/09 - Mayor Gavin Newsom today commended the Board of Supervisors for its passage of the mandatory recycling ordinance (www.sfenvironment.org). The ordinance, which today passed on the Board's first reading, requires residential and commercial building owners to sign up for recycling and composting services.
Mayor Newsom's ordinance will require all residences and businesses in San Francisco to take advantage of the city's recycling and composting collection programs. While several other cities require recycling service and participation, San Francisco is the first city to require the collection of food scraps and other compostables. Refuse collection has been mandatory since the 1930s.
"San Francisco has the best recycling and composting programs in the nation, and we've already attained an impressive, and first in the nation, 72 percent recycling rate because of them," said Mayor Newsom. "I am pleased with the leadership the Board of Supervisors has demonstrated on this important legislation. By collaborating with all of our stakeholders, businesses, colleagues, and citizens, we can build on our success and continue to lead the nation in recycling."
A comprehensive study conducted by the Department of the Environment found that 36 percent of what San Francisco sends to landfills is compostable, primarily food scraps, and 31 percent is recyclable—which is mostly paper. There are facilities in the City and surrounding areas that reuse, recycle, compost or otherwise process and market most materials discarded in San Francisco, saving this material from landfill and creating green-collar jobs.
Newsom said a primary goal of the mandatory recycling ordinance, which was cosponsored by Supervisors Ross Mirkarimi and Chris Daly, is to get recycling and composting happening in buildings where it is not currently provided.
"Many tenants want to recycle and compost," said Newsom, "but the building does not offer the service. We're going to change that."
Newsom said that if all of the recyclable and compostable materials currently going to landfills were captured by our programs, San Francisco's recycling rate would soar from 70 percent to 90 percent.
No fines are specified in the ordinance, but there is a cap of $100 established for residences and businesses that generate less than one cubic yard of refuse per week, which is the equivalent of six 32-gallon carts. Fines higher than $100 may still apply to businesses and to landlords of large apartment buildings who refuse to offer recycling and composting opportunities to tenants when feasible.
Newsom said that cities with mandatory recycling and fines, such as Seattle, rarely assess such fines. He stressed that fines serve primarily to heighten public awareness and encourage compliance.
Under San Francisco's refuse rates, residents and businesses generally save money by reducing waste and participating in recycling and composting programs.
The ordinance will return to the Board for a second reading and final vote next week.
The legislation passed today 9-2.
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