Recycling Our Way to a More Sustainable Future
A seventy-two percent diversion rate from the landfill is something to be proud of, and I congratulate every San Francisco resident, business, and visitor who helped us along the way. But we can’t rest on our laurels, not when there are so many valuable resources still going to the dump.
We recently conducted a waste stream analysis and discovered that about two thirds of the stuff people throw away—half a million tons each year—could have been recycled or turned to compost. If were able to capture everything, we would have a recycling rate of 90 percent.
That’s why I’ve introduced an ordinance that will make it mandatory for everyone —homeowners, businesses, or renters — to use our recycling and composting programs. If we can get food scrap collection service into large apartment buildings that currently don’t have it, we’re going to see another great year for recycling.
On a final note, the flip side to how much you recycle is how little you send to the landfill. Our disposal tonnage is the lowest it’s been in over 30 years. Our recycling programs can and have been implemented in cities around the world. For more info on our recycling programs please visit - http://www.sfenvironment.org/.
See also: Our series from the CEO’s of Major Solar Companies. Latest Post: Beyond Subsidized Solar Power: The Path to Grid Parity
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Image Credits: 1) TheGarbagePit 2) Mayor’s Office
Good stuff. There are still some glaring obvious places where recycling could cover more ground so to speak.
Was in SFO yesterday looking intently to recycle my bottle of what had been orange juice. To my surprise no program was in place.
These areas of high traffic could up that percentile if equipped with recycling options. Thanks
What about all the garbage on the planes flying into SFO or any airport for that matter. None of the trash is recycled on planes… It is so easy just to collect the cans, plastic and paper.
Apparently airlines need to cut costs in other ways… no peanuts.
Great news. it’s with news like this that we can make a difference. The old Reduce Reuse Recycle message should be better promoted as a simple mean to a better planet.
I wish we had a mayor like Newsom promoting recycling. How about Chief Recycling Advocate in the Obama administration.
I thought SFO would actually be within San Bruno city limits, but it does have an SF address, so the recommendations on the SFO improvements are justified. That also makes me ask why they couldn’t put recycling bins on the BART trains (though they likely exist in the stations).
I wonder how much the sporting stadiums contribute to the recycling.
Actually, as I understand if from this article: 1.http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9249262 the waste is not collected separately ( “single stream” collection), but is separated mostly automatically at a facility dedicated only to waste separation. So there is no need for a specific container for bottles, and another for cans etc.
I’m impressed. I would never think that would be possible, have to give it to SF for achieving this goal. Is there a site to check out what the recycle rate is for NYC, Boston or anywhere else? It would be interesting to know how other cities rank.
@Jeff Berlin: In SF recyclables are culled out of trash so technically there’s no need for a separate “recycling” container–just put your bottle in the “trash”.
@Jeff — I was under the impression that SFO sorted trash and recyclables for you.
It doesn’t make much sense to do the recycling on planes, since space is at a premium. It would make more sense to do it at the airport.
Amazing. As a recent transplant from SF to Honolulu i miss all the great recycling opprotunities. Everyone needs to look to SF as an example.
Try getting all offices in UCSF to require recycling. There is a lot of waste that comes from the medical center and supporting offices within UCSF. All UC campuses should truly be green rather than claiming they are that way.