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

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

jack.macy@sfgov.org415-355-3751