Mark Westlund: City Achieves Recycling Aim

San Francisco is making recycling history. New statistics show that the City now recycles more material than it sends to a landfill. This is a major accomplishment for a city as dense as San Francisco.

The figures for calendar year 2001, which SF Environment, the city's department of the environment, is filing with state regulators, show that San Francisco generated 1,620,260 tons of waste material in 2001. Of this, 780,622 tons went into a landfill, while 839,638 tons were diverted through recycling, composting, reuse and other efforts. This represents a diversion rate of 52 percent, up from the 46 percent reported last year.

"In San Francisco, recycling is an important part of life," said SF Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr. "When I started as mayor in 1996, San Francisco recycled only 35 percent of its waste. But today, on account of the hard work of businesses, residents, Norcal Waste Systems and our Environment Department, we celebrate a victory for the environment."

San Francisco does not have the large lawns that help other California cities capture tons of green waste. Instead, the City developed a food scrap compost program, now the most successful of any city in the country, which diverted nearly 60,000 tons of organic waste in 2001. Norcal's Sunset Scavenger and Golden Gate Disposal and Recycling Company take more than 300 tons of organic material each day to a compost facility near Vacaville, where it is turned into high-quality compost.

The compost is appropriate for use on organic farms. Several farmers in Northern California grow fresh produce using the compost and sell their produce back to restaurants in San Francisco. This way we close the recycling loop locally - a rare accomplishment.

The "Fantastic Three" recycling program was another critical element to San Francisco's recycling success story. The program provides three carts for curbside pickup: blue for paper, bottles and cans; green for food scraps, yard trimmings and other compostable materials; and black for trash. The new recycling program, which will eventually go citywide, has reached approximately 100,000 San Francisco houses and 7,000 apartment buildings. The tonnage of recycling captured on these routes has almost doubled.

"Surpassing the 50 percent mark is just the beginning for San Francisco," said SF Environment Director Jared Blumenfeld. "We recycle all types of plastic bottles, food scraps, computers, mattresses and items that other cities throw away. Our ultimate goal is to build a San Francisco that has no waste going to the landfill."

In September, the SF Board of Supervisors passed a resolution calling for San Francisco to divert 75 percent of its waste stream materials from the landfill by 2010 and charges the Environment Commission with setting a deadline for attaining zero waste. In order to achieve this, San Francisco and its recycling companies will need to find additional markets for recyclable products.

"San Francisco's recycling programs make recycling easy and convenient for residents and businesses," said Mike Sangiacomo, president and chief executive officer at Norcal Waste Systems.

California law requires that cities recycle, reuse or otherwise divert at least 50 percent of their waste stream materials. By achieving 52 percent, San Francisco has exceeded the state mandate and avoids the possibility of $10,000 daily fines for non-compliance.

Mark Westlund coordinates public outreach programs for the City's Environment Department. You can find out more about SF Environment at www.sfenvironment.com or by calling (415) 355-3700.