San Francisco Zero Waste Policies & Programs
Jack MacyDepartment of the Environment
City and County of San Francisco
San Francisco StatisticsPolitical Drivers and Structure
• CA requires 50% LF diversion by 2000 with fines, CA Global Warming Act mandates commercial recycling and other protocols for measuring the carbon value of diverting organics from landfill for digesting or composing, such as using compost to reduced carbon use and emissions from landfill
• City & County with Committed Mayor and Board of Supervisor use streamlined decision making to be seem as green policy leaders
Demographics• 850,000 population, 1.3 million day time in 127 sq km, 9842/km2
• Multilingual population - 50% don’t speak English at home
Collection & Facility Service Infrastructure• Private companies for 80 years, now “Recology - Waste Zero”, exclusive permitted collectors (for trash, compostables and most recyclables, not most of C&D) as well as processing SF recyclables and compostables
• Variable service rates (PAYT) through city rate review approval process funds collection and processing
• In-city recycling processing, regional composting and regional landfill via city transfer station
Generator Incentive: Pay As You Throw Functions Like a Utility
Customers: o Pay for Waste… like a
Utility... electricity, water or gas…
• Residents pay only for trash to landfill• Commercial rates use the business’
diversion % as the discount on the volume-based waste bill, i.e. one black, one blue, one green = 66% discount
San Francisco Zero Waste Policies• 75% Landfill Diversion by 2010
(Achieved 72% diversion for 2007 for ~2 millions total generation)
• Zero Waste to landfill or incineration by 2020
• Promote Highest and Best Use of Materials
• Require Consumer & Producer Responsibility (EPR)
• Achieve UN Urban Environmental Accords (>100 Mayors have signed Accords that include agreeing to set ZW Goal and to reduce use of disposable products by 50%)
• Mandatory C&D Recovery (7/06)
• Styrofoam Ban (6/07) & Plastic Bag Ban (11/07)
• Mandatory Recycling & Composting (10/09)
Upstream Waste
Tip of the “Wasteberg” Impact
Municipal Waste
tip of the “wasteberg” Upstream waste
produced is 70 times greater than at municipal level
Waste Diversion Protects Climate
Recycling reduces energy use & emissions upstream
Composting/Digestion reduces methane emissions from landfills
Compost use increases storage of carbon in soil & biomass
Compost decreases use of petro-based fertilizers and pesticides, and reduces irrigation saving energy use
www.stoptrashingtheclimate.org
San Francisco Greenhouse Gas Emissions Target
8.48
8.25
7.8 2005
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1990 2000 2005 2012Year
Mil
lio
n T
on
s eC
O2
10.8 Business as usualForecast
8.5 Kyotol Protocol
7.3 Adopted Goal20% below 1990
2.5 million tons eCO2/year reduced by 2012
In 2002 we projected programs will reduce 302,000 tons eCO2 per year toward ghg reduction
goal by 2012
Results will be much higher by achieving 75% diversion through:
Increased Recycling Increased Composting Increased Construction and Demolition
Recovery
SF Highest & Best Use Food Diversion• Edible Food Donation
Delivered to meal programs via Food Banks• Animal Feed
Picked-up by farmers or via processor for feed production
• Rendering Grease & meat products processed into tallow & animal feed
• On-site Composting By residents, schools, colleges and universities for on-site soils
• Large Scale Composting Curbside collection to large scale processing into compost
• Digestion into Gas or Converting to BioDiesel Collection and centralized digestion into biogas energy FOG (fats, oil & grease) processed into Biodiesel
San Francisco Food Bank Edible Food Redistribution
Produce, Brewery & Tofu Residuals For Dairy Feed
FOG (Fat, Oil & Grease), Meat & Bones Rendered Into Animal Meal & Tallow
Home Composting Education & Bins
Composting & Recycling Collection Designed For High Diversion
Recyclable Paper21%
Glass and PlasticAluminum and Steel
5%
Construction andDemolition Waste
30%
Other10%
All % numbers by weight or tons
Food Scraps20%
Plant Trimmings5%
Compostable Paper& Fiber 10%
Three Stream Collection Program for Residents and Businesses
Easy to Understand Program & Outreach
Recyclable Paper, Glass Bottles, Metal Cans, & All Rigid Plastics
Food Scraps, Yard Trimmings and Compostable Paper/Fiber
What’s Left Over?
Recyclables & Trash Collected Using Dual Compactors Weekly For Residents
Commercial Recycling & Composting Collection With Many Bin Options and
Frequency of Collection Up to Daily
Fully Commingled Recycling Collection in Offices With Desk-side 7 Lt Blue Bins
with <3 Qtr Black Trash Caddy
Material Recovery Facility (MRF) Sorts Mixed Recyclables For Shipping to Markets
Tipping Single Stream Material
3 Single Stream & 2 Mixed Commercial Lines for over 1200 tpd
Initial Hand Sorting of Larger Material
Angled Rotating Bar Screens Separate Fiber and Containers
Screened Mixed Paper Fibers
Sorting Small Fiber From Container Unders
Mixed Commercial Line, With Less Containers, May Sort White Paper
Plastic & Glass Hand Sorted
Ferrous Sorted by Magnets & Aluminum by Eddy Currents
Paper & Metals to Asian Markets, Glass Regional & Plastic Regional/Asian Markets
Backhaul low cost shipping to China
Compostables Collected with Single Chamber Compactors - Weekly For Residents &
Up to Daily for Businesses
Side Loading Hopper Good For Monitoring And Quality Control
“Love Note” feedback to stop contamination
Kitchen Pails for Food Scraps
Allow Only BPI Certified & Labeled or an equivalent for Standard Specification for
Compostable Plastics (ASTM D6400)
To Increase Participation, Compostable Kitchen Pail Bags Were Provided as
Samples and We Got Stores to sell them
Strategies to Tackle Apartment Building Composting
Neighborhood Door to Door Outreach Campaign
.
SF Environment Staffand Volunteers offer kitchen pail type and bag options and education
Apartment Chutes Create Obstacles to Sorting – City Exploring 3 Way Systems
Single Chute can be converted to 3 Stream Collection System
Get Management Support with Rate Incentives, On-site Technical & Material
Assistance & Multilingual Training
Multi-lingual And Photo
Image Poster Used for
Commercial Training and Bin Signage
Green Bin Set-up For Work Station Sorting
Toters, Slim Jims or Shoots to Separate Bottles & Cans from Compostables
3 Stream Color-coded Sorting
Combining, Lining, Tipping & Cleaning
Sorting Containers
Scomas Restaurant at 95% Diversion Proudly Promotes Its Program & Awards
Building Cafeteria Diversion Station
Office Building Kitchen Collection
Office Building Restroom Paper Towel Composting Collection
(99% is paper waste, while separate nappies and sanitary products put in separate toilette stall bins)
Compostable Bags & Food Service Ware to Reduce Cleaning and Contamination
SF Food Service Waste Reduction Ordinance Since June 1, 2007
• Banned the use of polystyrene foam (EPS) by food vendors serving food prepared and served in San Francisco.– Styrene life cycle health impacts, non-compostable & non-
recyclable, terrestrial & marine food web impacts
• Food vendors can only use disposable food ware that is acceptable as compostable or recyclable. All non-foam rigid plastics now accepted for recycling.
• 95% compliance to date on not using EPS. 4500 restaurants, cafes and take-out establishments were targeted with outreach, including product showcase events and working with distributors.
Food Ware Accepted as Compostable
• Paper or Plant Pulp/Fiber– Recycled Paper– Bagasse/Sugarcane – Poly coated paper
allowed for now (PLA coated better)
• Compostable Plastics must meet ASTM D6400 and be labeled compostable, preferably with green print or green band or green sticker.
Using Compostable Food Service Can Divert Up to 90+% at Public Events
Public Event Collection Station But Without Adequate Signage
Food Service/Event Signage
Useful Sign Container Tops
Public Indoor Sorting Station at Ferry Building
Outdoor Farmer’s Market Station
Food Court Customized Signage Attaching Actual Food Ware Used
Hospital Cafeteria Sorting Station Signage – Easier If Containers Are All
Compostable or All Recyclable
Working Creativity with Space Constraints
Options for Cleaning Containers
Using Compostable Bag Liners Helps Participation - Keeping Containers Clean
>100 Schools Have Food Composting & Recycling Programs
Monitoring Contamination, Give Feedback And Assistance To Ensure Quality Control
Environmental Stewards from the Community Can Provide Outreach in the Neighborhood
Recology’s “Jepsen Prairie Organics” Regional Composting Facility, 300 TPD using 15 acres
New technology allows 600 tpd within strict CA Air Resources Board VOC emissions limits
on the same 15 acre siteEngineered Compost Systems (ECS)
Food Waste High In Nitrogen, Moisture, Fiber And Low In
Contamination
Receive, Shred, Screen and Manually Sort Out Contaminants from Feedstock
Plastic Bags Primary Contaminant
New Site Layout
Plan Drawing
“CompDog” & Pile Building
AC Cover
Aeration Vault Forming
Winding DogVaultTransition Pipe connected
Perforated Cover to Pull Air Through Pile into Duck Work
Aeration System
DamperDuctFansBiofilter
High-temperatures Meet Pathogen Kill Requirements
Nutrient Rich Compost Screened To 3/8 or ¼ Inch
Custom Blending For Specific Markets and Organic Certified
Compost Used For Landscaping & Golf Courses
Compost Used On Organic Farms And Vineyards To Build Healthy Soils
Organic Produce Being Marketed Back to San Francisco
Diverting Food and Other Compostables From Landfill Sustains Soils and Closes
Organics & Nutrient Loop
EBMUD WWTP Food Digestion Pilot
• Commercial food waste is collected, pre-sorted, and ground by hauler before delivery
• Pilot started in 2004 designed to receive 1-2 loads/day (20-40 tons) just got to 80 tpd
• Material is discharged into underground tanks, processed and anaerobically digested
The Food Scrap Digestion to Energy Process
• Organic-rich food waste is added directly to existing digesters to increase methane production.
• Methane gas, a renewable green energy source fuels an existing 6-megawatt on-site power plant (20 tons/day creates power for > 250 homes/day). Food >3x energy value than biosolids.
• Utilizes the facilities existing digestion infrastructure.
Preprocessed Food Scraps Delivery
EBMUD Food Scraps Digestion Expansion
• Goal 100-200 ton/day commercial food scraps for dedicated food digestion and composting of digestate
• Generate 1.5 - 3 MW from the biogas, a high-grade renewable green energy product
• Reduce organics transportation and composting emissions
• Provide regional benefits of renewable energy, ghg reduction, soil health and waste diversion
SF Plastic Bag Reduction Ordinance
• Targets large grocery stores (>50) and pharmacy chains (>100) that provide large majority of bags with large purchases estimated 00-150 m plastic bags. To reduce cost and impact of plastic bag litter and recycling/composting contamination.
• Grocery stores and pharmacy chains provide only check-out bags that are:– Reusable cloth/fabric or durable plastic of 2.25 ml, – Compostable plastic (BPI certified to meet ASTM
D6400), &/or– Recyclable paper (40% post-consumer recycled
content)
• Best policy is fees then rebates to encourage bag reuse, supporting proposed state bag fee.
Mandatory C&D Recovery Ordinance• Applies to all construction projects in City limits
• No C&D debris can be taken to landfill or put in garbage
• Source-separated materials go to a facility accepting those materials
• Mixed C&D debris must be processed at a registered facility
• Requires use of registered transporters for mixed
debris (few exceptions)
• No fees required; penalties for noncompliance
• Full demolition requires approved waste management plan demonstrating 65% diversion
Registered Facilities Must Achieve at least a 65% Diversion Rate
Mandatory C&D Diversion with Metal, Sheetrock, Wood, Concrete & Inert Fines
Recovered From C&D at 600 tpd MRF
Bulky, Electronic and Toxic Waste Collection Programs
Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance
• All sectors – residential, commercial, city agencies - must separate recyclables, compostables (inc. food) and trash into designated containers.
• Properties must subscribe to adequate service
• Property managers must provide program for tenants, janitors with appropriate color-coded containers, signage and education.
• Front of house collection for food establishments with disposable food ware
• Fines up to $100 for residents, $1000 for business.
• Signed June 21st and effective October 21, 2009.
• Results of ordinance - includes 25% increase in composting tonnage to over 500 tpd.
Commercial Accounts Composting
3,135 3,351
4,197
5,195
3,530
Sep-08 Dec-08 Mar-09 Sep-09 Dec-09
Month
Acc
ount
s
Apartments Buildings Composting
4785
5209
2572
380
0
1500
3000
4500
6000
7500
9000
Dec-05 Jul-09 Dec-09 Mar-10
Apts with Green Carts
8547 Apartments in SF
Disposal: Lowest in 40 years
Year Disposal Compost Diversion Collection
• 2000 872,731 21,072 46%• 2002 751,180 56,530 62%• 2005 664,033 85,395 69%• 2007 617,883 91,505 72%• 2008 560,330 103,749 72%• 2009 <490,000 >130,000 >72%
SF Lessons & Recommendations• Adopt Zero Waste goals and policies
• Create public/private partnerships with mutual goals to develop programs and infrastructure
• Support siting, permitting and financing of infrastructure
• Incentivize service providers and generators to increase diversion (PAYT critical)
• Establish comprehensive residential & commercial “single stream” recycling and food & other organics composting
• Provide color coded and easy to use (at least as convenient) collection programs
• Conduct extensive outreach and on-site assistance to commercial or multi-tenant customers
• Mandate participation with threat of fines or stopped service
• Improve technologies to adapt to changing environmental, regulatory and market conditions
• Pursue Consumer and Producer Responsibility policies
SF Strategies to Pursue Zero Waste
• Expand source reduction, reuse, recycling and composting and other programs and participation
• Increase service provider and generator incentives
• Improve material processing technologies (e.g., digestion & recovery from mixed waste but not high temp destruction) and diversify products and markets
• Conducting extensive ongoing outreach and education
• Require producer and consumer responsibility through policies and legislation
• Require products be reusable, recyclable or compostable
• Push to eliminate tax and other subsidies that give preference to virgin materials and landfilling waste
Why MBT & Not Incineration for ZW• More flexibility and adaptability to changing environmental, market
and regulatory conditions.
• More options to pursue a diversity of product markets, such as biogas for heat and power, compost for building local healthy soils, and to tap local to international recycling markets.
• More opportunity to increase the highest and best use resources with collection, processing and market flexibility and pursuing consumer and producer EPR policies.
• Lower capital and public finance cost and more modular and adaptable for scaling up production as needed and less commitment of public resources.
• Better conservation of carbon, resources, energy and emissions in product life cycles.
SF’s Future MBT ZW Facility
San Francisco Zero Waste for Everyone
Thank You!
Jack MacySan Francisco
Department of the Environmentwww.sfenvironment.org