Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance

Did you know that we generate 21.5 million tons of food residuals annually? That’s a lot of wasted food. But according to greenwaste.com, if this food waste were composted instead of being sent to landfills, the resulting reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would be equivalent to taking more than two million cars off the road. We all have learned about the importance of recycling cans, bottles, and paper but food waste has been overlooked until recently. On October 21, 2009, San Francisco made it illegal to throw orange peels, coffee grounds and grease-stained pizza boxes in the trash. I believe that this ordinance to help reduce waste is positive and should be considered in other major cities. First, I’d like to talk to you about what exactly the law is and how it is enforced. Second, I want to discuss the benefits of compost recycling. And last I want to talk about how other major cities can adopt this type of recycling to reduce their own waste. The San Francisco Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance states, “All persons in San Francisco must source their refuse into recyclables, compostables, and trash, and place each type of refuse in a separate container designated to that type of refuse. No person may mix recyclables, compostables or trash, or deposit refuse of one type in a collection container designated for another type of refuse…” Basically, the legislation calls for every residence and business in the city to have three separate color-coded bins for waste: blue for recycling, green for compost and black for trash. You may be wondering how San Francisco can enforce this new law. Well, according to sfenvironment.org, residences and businesses are required to subscribe and pay for adequate trash, recycling and composting service. Any property owner or manager who fails to maintain and pay for adequate trash, recycling, and composting service is subject to liens, fines, and other fees. In addition, the ordinance mandates collectors to notify and educate customers who put the wrong material in a container. Warnings will be issued prior to fines. The ordinance first requires a tag on the container and then, if misuse continues, a letter. After several warnings, the collector may refuse to empty a cart and leave another tag. Warnings are opportunities for education, and fines to be charged only in extreme ongoing situations. Most of us understand that the waste produced by cans, bottles, and paper is overflowing our landfills but some are unaware that 30 percent of the space in landfills can be attributed to organic waste. According to sfenvironment.org, if San Francisco collected everything that could be recycled or composted, we 'd be diverting 90 percent of our waste stream. You may be curious about why our landfills shouldn’t be filled with organic waste. Let me just tell you how compost recycling is beneficial for everyone. The first benefit is for you personally. Anyone with a refuse collection account can get a composting service from one of the San Francisco waste management companies. This service is free for residences. When you compost and recycle you can reduce your trash service, which can reduce your bill. The next obvious benefit is for our environment. By composting to help keep organic waste out of landfills, we subsequently help reduce anaerobic digestion that can lead to the generation of methane in landfills. Stopping this generation is important because methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, 23 more times effective at trapping heat that the most prevalent gas, Carbon Dioxide (CO2). According to an article titled Composting: a Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Measure, another environmental advantage of composting is it can significantly reduce agriculture demand. The application of compost can reduce the need for irrigation by 30 to 70 percent revealed in recent research. This is because the compost-rich soil increases infiltration and storage capacity of root systems and reduces water runoff, evaporation, and water usage by weeds. Also, a significant decrease in water consumption would considerably reduce energy consumption. So, how can recycling organic waste not be beneficial to anyone? San Francisco is the first city to make organic waste recycling mandatory. But San Diego, Seattle, and Pittsburg have had mandatory recycling laws. Although their recycling laws don’t include compost, they have taken the initiative to reduce their waste. But how do we get these cities and others to adopt composting? Well the first step is for the city t start promoting composting practices. According to Mr. Maede, a policy researcher, the second largest city in Indonesia has promoted composting practices by setting up more than a dozen composting centers and distributing thousands of compost baskets to residents. The city has also actively involved residents and community groups in waste reduction activities by co-organizing a community cleanup campaign with local NGOs, private companies and the media. Not to mention that the amount that the city spent for a series of activities was only one to two percent of the total solid waste management expenditures. If Indonesia can promote composting, how can we not?
Recycling and going green is not just a new fad. It is something that we need to adopt and participate in to preserve our planet for future generations. From the information I have presented to you, you should realize that recycling is just not for paper, cans, and bottles; but also for organic waste. Now you know what San Francisco’s mandatory recycling and composting ordinance is, why it’s important, and how other cities can take initiative to start their organic refuse. With this information, I believe that this law is vital to our environment’s health and should not be discriminated against. Works Cited
“Composting: A Green Gas Mitigation Measure.” Californians Against Waste. May 2, 2010.
Green Waste. GreenWaste Recovery, Inc. May 1, 2010.
Maede, Toshizo. “Reducing waste through the promotion of composting and active involvement of various stakeholders: Replicating Surabaya’s solid waste management model.” Institute for Global Environmental Strategies. n.p. December 2009.
“Mandatory Recycling & Composting.” Sfenvironment.org. May 1, 2010.
Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance. Ordinance No. 100-09. File No. 081404. Page 8. June 6, 2009.

Cited: “Composting: A Green Gas Mitigation Measure.” Californians Against Waste. May 2, 2010. Green Waste. GreenWaste Recovery, Inc. May 1, 2010. Maede, Toshizo. “Reducing waste through the promotion of composting and active involvement of various stakeholders: Replicating Surabaya’s solid waste management model.” Institute for Global Environmental Strategies. n.p. December 2009. “Mandatory Recycling & Composting.” Sfenvironment.org. May 1, 2010. Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance. Ordinance No. 100-09. File No. 081404. Page 8. June 6, 2009.