San Francisco s Food Composting Program Alexa Kielty Department of the Environment City and County of San Francisco alexa.kielty@sfgov.org Mid-Atlantic Organics Summit November 30, 2006
San Francisco Background Population: 777,000 & 1.3 million daytime Multilingual and multicultural: 40% don t speak English at home 330,000 households 7000 food establishments 2 exclusively permitted haulers Variable rates charged for garbage collection via City rate approval process Total waste diversion is 67%
California Recycling Laws 1989 AB939 law mandated 50% waste diversion from landfill by 2000 Source reduction, reuse, recycling and composting, and biomass transformation (burn) stated hierarchy over landfill 1992 AB 2020 Bottle Bill requires deposit on all beverage containers, encouraging scavenging for buy back and funds programs 2004 SB 20 E-Waste Bill requires deposit on all electronic monitors to help fund collection and recycling programs
San Francisco s Waste Diversion Goals & Zero Waste Policy 75% Landfill Diversion by 2010 Zero Waste to landfill or incineration by 2020 Highest and Best Use of Materials Consumer and Producer Responsibility (EPR)
SF Total Waste Generation 1995-2003 San Francisco Waste Disposal Tonnage 2,000,000 1,800,000 1,600,000 1,400,000 1,200,000 1,000,000 800,000 600,000 400,000 200,000 0 Landfilled Recycled Total Generation 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Year Brown Vence and Associates Waste Diversion Study, 2004
Fantastic 3 Collection Program
Easy to Understand Residential Brochure
Designed For Easy Participation Labeled Lids Now using more Color Coded picture graphics Wheeled Cart Kitchen Pail for Safety and Convenience
Compostable Bags are Available
Side Loading Single Chamber Compactor
Side Loading Hopper Good For Monitoring And Quality Control Love Note feedback to stop contamination
Businesses Can be serviced daily
Other Commercial Composting Collection Systems
Management Support, Incentives, & Multilingual Staff Training Critical
Multi-lingual And Photo Image Poster Used for Training and Bin Signage
Green Bin Set-up For Work Station Sorting
Options for Cleaning Containers
Compostable Bags & Food Service Ware to Reduce Cleaning and Contamination
Using Bag Liners Can Help Participation
Working Creativity with Space Constraints
50% - 75% Diversion
Convention Hotels & Ball Park Divert 50%+ Recycling and Composting
Special Events can divert up to 75%
Compostable Service Ware & Food Scraps
Composting in Office Building Improves Paper Recycling
Wax Cardboard into Compost
Composting at Schools
Organics Top Loaded Into Vehicles for 60 miles Haul to Compost Facility
Norcal s Jepsen Prairie Organics Regional Composting Facility
Receiving & Sorting Out Contaminants From Food Rich Compostable Feedstock
Need for Labeling Compostable PLA cups & Products Made from Corn
Grinding Feedstock for Composting
Feedstock Ram-fed Into 200 Foot Long HDPE Ag-Bags
Bags Aerated For 30 Days With Timed Blowers And Perforated Pipes
High Temperatures Meet Pathogen Kill (PFRP) Requirements
Bags Opened and Material Turned In Open Windrows For 30 Days
Compost Screened To 3/8 or ¼ Inch
Custom Blending For Specific Markets and Organic Certified
Compost Used On Organic Farms And Vineyards To Build Healthy Soils
Organic Produce Grown with Compost Sent to San Francisco
Closing The Loop - Food Composting Sustains Healthy Soils To Grow Organic Food That Returns To Feed The City
Lessons Learned-Financial Incentives For service providers such as a higher rate of company profit for a higher diversion rate. For waste generators An incentive example is a discounted rate for participating in composting.
Why a Municipal Composting Program? Reduces carbon emissions. Creates a marketable products from waste stream. Creates growing medium for local agriculture. Displaces petroleum based fertilizers. Avoids landfilling. Can save $ and emissions on transportation. Anaerobic digestion is the next step for SF, to produce energy, We d like to diversify our organics markets
Materials Still Landilled Recyclable Paper 20% Food Scraps 27% Bottles & Cans 5% Construction & Demolition Debris 15% Yard Trimmings 2% Compostable Paper 6% Other 25%
Thank You for inviting me to your Organics Summit! Jack Macy San Francisco Department of the Environment jack.macy@sfgov.org