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Chloe
04-23-2013, 02:15 PM
Where No City Has Gone Before: San Francisco Will Be World's First Zero-Waste Town by 2020


A future without landfills? SF is already 78% of the way there -- but the hardest part is still ahead.



http://www.alternet.org/files/styles/story_image/public/images/managed/storyimages_1334715535_200902sfrecycling28.jpg


A sculpture made of garbage salvaged from San Francisco's dump
Photo Credit: Sven Eberlein



April 18, 2012 |

Last month, the millionth ton (http://www.sfmayor.org/index.aspx?page=758) of food scraps, coffee grounds and soiled paper from San Francisco’s mandatory composting program returned to residents’ dinner tables in the form of fresh, organic foods grown by local farmers using the city’s nutrient-rich compost as fertilizer. Coming on the heels of the city’s 2009 municipal ordinance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Mandatory_Recycling_and_Composting_O rdinance) requiring city-wide source separation of all organic materials, the first large-scale urban food waste and composting program in the country has not only helped reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions to nearly 12 percent below 1990 levels; it's also catapulted San Francisco to a staggering, nation-leading 78 percent waste diversion rate.
Just a few years ago, a zero-waste (http://sfenvironment.org/zero-waste) city was considered a futuristic scenario. Now, the city by the bay is on track to be the first and only North American city to achieve this impressive goal -- and it plans to get there by 2020.
For San Franciscans like myself, life without the “ Fantastic Three (http://sfenvironment.org/zero-waste/recycling-and-composting/residential-recycling-and-composting)” -- the simple, color-coded cart system consisting of a green composting, blue recycling and black, often smaller trash cart -- has become unthinkable. Putting banana peels and used tissues into an empty quart of ice-cream is part of our routine. Trips to cities without composting bins feel like visits to strange planets in distant galaxies. The fact that we could so quickly get used to skittle-sized garbage bags while our compost bags are bulging with leftovers speaks not only to a well-conceived program and the adaptability of San Francisco residents, but to the potential of reaching similar milestones anywhere else in the U.S or abroad.

Cities across America have been trying to figure out how to keep their landfills from overflowing since the 1980s. According to EPA figures (http://www.epa.gov/waste/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/msw_2010_rev_factsheet.pdf), 34 percent -- or 85 million tons out of a total 250 million tons of trash generated in the U.S. in 2010 -- was recycled, up from only 10 percent in 1980. However, while curbside recycling and yard waste composting programs are now ubiquitous in many cities, and have accounted for much of this uptick, per capita solid waste generation in the U.S. has actually increased from 3.66 to 4.43 pounds per person per day in the same time span. In other words, whatever dent Americans are making into their garbage through recycling is still offset by increased consumption and disposal.

From huge methane emissions (http://www.epa.gov/outreach/sources.html) due to decomposition of landfill waste to the growing garbage patch (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch) in the Pacific Ocean, cities everywhere are waking up to the fact that our throw-it-away culture can no longer be remediated with voluntary bottle, can and newspaper recycling alone. This low-hanging fruit has already been picked. Now, some cities are moving on to the bigger challenge: the organic materials that constitute the largest component of municipal solid waste. With less than 3 percent of food scraps currently being composted nationwide, and many non-recyclable materials like plastic bags on the rise, cities with even the most comprehensive glass, aluminum and paper recycling programs are hard-pressed to keep more than half of their total waste out of their landfills.

Breaking the 50 percent “glass” ceiling and moving toward zero-waste is a multi-faceted undertaking. It requires a comprehensive, long-term plan that involves all stakeholders, and includes several important steps.

First, you need the infrastructure and facilities to divert and repurpose the hundreds of materials discarded daily by modern society, from electronic gadgets to old mattresses to soiled paper napkins. Second, participation has to be city-wide and mandatory -- including residential, government, business and industrial sectors. Third, some sacred cows of convenience, like the above-mentioned plastic bags, have to be banned, or at least reflect their true cost (http://plasticbaglaws.org/san-francisco-board-of-supervisors-unanimously-adopts-comprehensive-plastic-bag-ordinance-that-applies-to-all-retailers-and-restaurants/). Most importantly, along with potential fines for non-compliance, there has to be a broad outreach program to educate all residents on why zero waste is beneficial to the community and the planet, and how each of us can contribute to the goal.

San Francisco’s story shows that with the right amount of political will, economic planning and civic engagement, it's possible to lay the foundation for a physical and mental environment in which the word “waste” as we know it does not need to exist.

continued on...
Where No City Has Gone Before: San Francisco Will Be World's First Zero-Waste Town by 2020 | Alternet (http://www.alternet.org/story/155039/where_no_city_has_gone_before%3A_san_francisco_wil l_be_world%27s_first_zero-waste_town_by_2020)

Cigar
04-23-2013, 02:17 PM
When I flush ... I want it Gone ... Forever. :)

Chloe
04-23-2013, 02:18 PM
I think it's pretty cool. Just goes to show you that sometimes all we have to do is simply try.

Cigar
04-23-2013, 02:23 PM
My wife tried starting a Compost area for her garden; that lasted for 2 months; the stench lasted for a little longer.

Peter1469
04-23-2013, 03:50 PM
The majority of the contents of landfills (rubbish) can be turned into methanol fuel. Two birds, one stone.

KC
04-23-2013, 04:19 PM
The majority of the contents of landfills (rubbish) can be turned into methanol fuel. Two birds, one stone.

But why isn't it? I would guess the main reason is that it would be too expensive of a process or that it's a matter of not enough capital to create economies of scale.

Peter1469
04-23-2013, 04:22 PM
I constantly post to Energy Victory. It gives numbers. With regard to landfills and methanol production, I don't believe it even factors in the costs associated with landfills and the status quo.

Sytha
04-23-2013, 04:22 PM
Where No City Has Gone Before: San Francisco Will Be World's First Zero-Waste Town by 2020


A future without landfills? SF is already 78% of the way there -- but the hardest part is still ahead.



http://www.alternet.org/files/styles/story_image/public/images/managed/storyimages_1334715535_200902sfrecycling28.jpg


A sculpture made of garbage salvaged from San Francisco's dump
Photo Credit: Sven Eberlein



April 18, 2012 |

Last month, the millionth ton (http://www.sfmayor.org/index.aspx?page=758) of food scraps, coffee grounds and soiled paper from San Francisco’s mandatory composting program returned to residents’ dinner tables in the form of fresh, organic foods grown by local farmers using the city’s nutrient-rich compost as fertilizer. Coming on the heels of the city’s 2009 municipal ordinance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Mandatory_Recycling_and_Composting_O rdinance) requiring city-wide source separation of all organic materials, the first large-scale urban food waste and composting program in the country has not only helped reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions to nearly 12 percent below 1990 levels; it's also catapulted San Francisco to a staggering, nation-leading 78 percent waste diversion rate.
Just a few years ago, a zero-waste (http://sfenvironment.org/zero-waste) city was considered a futuristic scenario. Now, the city by the bay is on track to be the first and only North American city to achieve this impressive goal -- and it plans to get there by 2020.
For San Franciscans like myself, life without the “ Fantastic Three (http://sfenvironment.org/zero-waste/recycling-and-composting/residential-recycling-and-composting)” -- the simple, color-coded cart system consisting of a green composting, blue recycling and black, often smaller trash cart -- has become unthinkable. Putting banana peels and used tissues into an empty quart of ice-cream is part of our routine. Trips to cities without composting bins feel like visits to strange planets in distant galaxies. The fact that we could so quickly get used to skittle-sized garbage bags while our compost bags are bulging with leftovers speaks not only to a well-conceived program and the adaptability of San Francisco residents, but to the potential of reaching similar milestones anywhere else in the U.S or abroad.

Cities across America have been trying to figure out how to keep their landfills from overflowing since the 1980s. According to EPA figures (http://www.epa.gov/waste/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/msw_2010_rev_factsheet.pdf), 34 percent -- or 85 million tons out of a total 250 million tons of trash generated in the U.S. in 2010 -- was recycled, up from only 10 percent in 1980. However, while curbside recycling and yard waste composting programs are now ubiquitous in many cities, and have accounted for much of this uptick, per capita solid waste generation in the U.S. has actually increased from 3.66 to 4.43 pounds per person per day in the same time span. In other words, whatever dent Americans are making into their garbage through recycling is still offset by increased consumption and disposal.

From huge methane emissions (http://www.epa.gov/outreach/sources.html) due to decomposition of landfill waste to the growing garbage patch (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch) in the Pacific Ocean, cities everywhere are waking up to the fact that our throw-it-away culture can no longer be remediated with voluntary bottle, can and newspaper recycling alone. This low-hanging fruit has already been picked. Now, some cities are moving on to the bigger challenge: the organic materials that constitute the largest component of municipal solid waste. With less than 3 percent of food scraps currently being composted nationwide, and many non-recyclable materials like plastic bags on the rise, cities with even the most comprehensive glass, aluminum and paper recycling programs are hard-pressed to keep more than half of their total waste out of their landfills.

Breaking the 50 percent “glass” ceiling and moving toward zero-waste is a multi-faceted undertaking. It requires a comprehensive, long-term plan that involves all stakeholders, and includes several important steps.

First, you need the infrastructure and facilities to divert and repurpose the hundreds of materials discarded daily by modern society, from electronic gadgets to old mattresses to soiled paper napkins. Second, participation has to be city-wide and mandatory -- including residential, government, business and industrial sectors. Third, some sacred cows of convenience, like the above-mentioned plastic bags, have to be banned, or at least reflect their true cost (http://plasticbaglaws.org/san-francisco-board-of-supervisors-unanimously-adopts-comprehensive-plastic-bag-ordinance-that-applies-to-all-retailers-and-restaurants/). Most importantly, along with potential fines for non-compliance, there has to be a broad outreach program to educate all residents on why zero waste is beneficial to the community and the planet, and how each of us can contribute to the goal.

San Francisco’s story shows that with the right amount of political will, economic planning and civic engagement, it's possible to lay the foundation for a physical and mental environment in which the word “waste” as we know it does not need to exist.

continued on...
Where No City Has Gone Before: San Francisco Will Be World's First Zero-Waste Town by 2020 | Alternet (http://www.alternet.org/story/155039/where_no_city_has_gone_before%3A_san_francisco_wil l_be_world%27s_first_zero-waste_town_by_2020)


now for the current wrinkle on all of this

the way it was implemeted was the three container system. Black garbage you were charged for and the prices were hiked to give your more "incentive" to recycle into the green and blue containers. The blue and green containers were free of charge since the city would reap the financial rewards for selling the recycling.

Then the city started with the recycle nazi's. They issue tickets to anyone caught not separating their garbage. You can and will be cited even if someone else has added the wrong thing into your garbage.

now the plan is to charge for the blue and green containers just as much as for the black garbage.

Chris
04-23-2013, 04:23 PM
So zero-waste means no organic waste, other kinds, just not organic because that's being recycled?

And the cost?

Sytha
04-23-2013, 04:27 PM
So zero-waste means no organic waste, other kinds, just not organic because that's being recycled?

And the cost?

if they are saying zero wast its a flat out lie.

The cost is enormous...and they plan on charging even more.

Boris The Animal
04-23-2013, 06:21 PM
It's typical Leftwingnut zaniness. but then again, it IS SanFransicko.

Chloe
04-23-2013, 07:56 PM
It's typical Leftwingnut zaniness. but then again, it IS SanFransicko.

How is it zany? Also have you ever actually been to San Francisco?

Boris The Animal
04-23-2013, 08:45 PM
How is it zany? Also have you ever actually been to San Francisco?Anything the Left cooks up is zany. Also, I would not set foot in Gaytown if you paid me a million dollars.

Chloe
04-23-2013, 08:46 PM
Anything the Left cooks up is zany. Also, I would not set foot in Gaytown if you paid me a million dollars.

I'd much rather be zany than a bigot

Greenridgeman
04-24-2013, 02:05 PM
if they are saying zero wast its a flat out lie.

The cost is enormous...and they plan on charging even more.


For the local, is the budget balanced in SFCAL, and city debt free?

nic34
04-24-2013, 02:07 PM
Anything the Left cooks up is zany. Also, I would not set foot in Gaytown if you paid me a million dollars.

Thanks for keeping SF clean.

Sytha
04-24-2013, 02:46 PM
For the local, is the budget balanced in SFCAL, and city debt free?

This is liberal hell, are you kidding? Debt is just a minor inconvenience to the great spenders of other peopeles money.

nic34
04-24-2013, 03:08 PM
The City and County of San Francisco is legally required by the State of California to balance its budget each year. This means that revenues and spending are equal.

http://openbook.sfgov.org/

Anything else I can do to ease you folks of your biases?

countryboy
04-24-2013, 03:22 PM
Where No City Has Gone Before: San Francisco Will Be World's First Zero-Waste Town by 2020


A future without landfills? SF is already 78% of the way there -- but the hardest part is still ahead.



http://www.alternet.org/files/styles/story_image/public/images/managed/storyimages_1334715535_200902sfrecycling28.jpg


A sculpture made of garbage salvaged from San Francisco's dump
Photo Credit: Sven Eberlein



April 18, 2012 |

Last month, the millionth ton (http://www.sfmayor.org/index.aspx?page=758) of food scraps, coffee grounds and soiled paper from San Francisco’s mandatory composting program returned to residents’ dinner tables in the form of fresh, organic foods grown by local farmers using the city’s nutrient-rich compost as fertilizer. Coming on the heels of the city’s 2009 municipal ordinance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Mandatory_Recycling_and_Composting_O rdinance) requiring city-wide source separation of all organic materials, the first large-scale urban food waste and composting program in the country has not only helped reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions to nearly 12 percent below 1990 levels; it's also catapulted San Francisco to a staggering, nation-leading 78 percent waste diversion rate.
Just a few years ago, a zero-waste (http://sfenvironment.org/zero-waste) city was considered a futuristic scenario. Now, the city by the bay is on track to be the first and only North American city to achieve this impressive goal -- and it plans to get there by 2020.
For San Franciscans like myself, life without the “ Fantastic Three (http://sfenvironment.org/zero-waste/recycling-and-composting/residential-recycling-and-composting)” -- the simple, color-coded cart system consisting of a green composting, blue recycling and black, often smaller trash cart -- has become unthinkable. Putting banana peels and used tissues into an empty quart of ice-cream is part of our routine. Trips to cities without composting bins feel like visits to strange planets in distant galaxies. The fact that we could so quickly get used to skittle-sized garbage bags while our compost bags are bulging with leftovers speaks not only to a well-conceived program and the adaptability of San Francisco residents, but to the potential of reaching similar milestones anywhere else in the U.S or abroad.

Cities across America have been trying to figure out how to keep their landfills from overflowing since the 1980s. According to EPA figures (http://www.epa.gov/waste/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/msw_2010_rev_factsheet.pdf), 34 percent -- or 85 million tons out of a total 250 million tons of trash generated in the U.S. in 2010 -- was recycled, up from only 10 percent in 1980. However, while curbside recycling and yard waste composting programs are now ubiquitous in many cities, and have accounted for much of this uptick, per capita solid waste generation in the U.S. has actually increased from 3.66 to 4.43 pounds per person per day in the same time span. In other words, whatever dent Americans are making into their garbage through recycling is still offset by increased consumption and disposal.

From huge methane emissions (http://www.epa.gov/outreach/sources.html) due to decomposition of landfill waste to the growing garbage patch (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch) in the Pacific Ocean, cities everywhere are waking up to the fact that our throw-it-away culture can no longer be remediated with voluntary bottle, can and newspaper recycling alone. This low-hanging fruit has already been picked. Now, some cities are moving on to the bigger challenge: the organic materials that constitute the largest component of municipal solid waste. With less than 3 percent of food scraps currently being composted nationwide, and many non-recyclable materials like plastic bags on the rise, cities with even the most comprehensive glass, aluminum and paper recycling programs are hard-pressed to keep more than half of their total waste out of their landfills.

Breaking the 50 percent “glass” ceiling and moving toward zero-waste is a multi-faceted undertaking. It requires a comprehensive, long-term plan that involves all stakeholders, and includes several important steps.

First, you need the infrastructure and facilities to divert and repurpose the hundreds of materials discarded daily by modern society, from electronic gadgets to old mattresses to soiled paper napkins. Second, participation has to be city-wide and mandatory -- including residential, government, business and industrial sectors. Third, some sacred cows of convenience, like the above-mentioned plastic bags, have to be banned, or at least reflect their true cost (http://plasticbaglaws.org/san-francisco-board-of-supervisors-unanimously-adopts-comprehensive-plastic-bag-ordinance-that-applies-to-all-retailers-and-restaurants/). Most importantly, along with potential fines for non-compliance, there has to be a broad outreach program to educate all residents on why zero waste is beneficial to the community and the planet, and how each of us can contribute to the goal.

San Francisco’s story shows that with the right amount of political will, economic planning and civic engagement, it's possible to lay the foundation for a physical and mental environment in which the word “waste” as we know it does not need to exist.

continued on...
Where No City Has Gone Before: San Francisco Will Be World's First Zero-Waste Town by 2020 | Alternet (http://www.alternet.org/story/155039/where_no_city_has_gone_before%3A_san_francisco_wil l_be_world%27s_first_zero-waste_town_by_2020)
No waste, really? And exactly how much taxpayer money will they waste to achieve this?

Greenridgeman
04-24-2013, 03:27 PM
No waste, really? And exactly how much taxpayer money will they waste to achieve this?


I think the lib answer is, it's ok, nobody is going to pay the debt anyway, so, just run up the bill..


I wonder, would that work IRL?

I could do a balance transfer on every credit card I have, and let them hound me til I die, I guess, and leave them holding the bag.

nic34
04-24-2013, 03:30 PM
I think the lib answer is, it's ok, nobody is going to pay the debt anyway, so, just run up the bill..


I wonder, would that work IRL?

I could do a balance transfer on every credit card I have, and let them hound me til I die, I guess, and leave them holding the bag.

Why would you post such an idiotic assumption?

Try here:

http://thepoliticalforums.com/threads/12511-Zero-waste-cities?p=274466&viewfull=1#post274466

Chloe
04-24-2013, 06:22 PM
No waste, really? And exactly how much taxpayer money will they waste to achieve this?

Not everybody considers this type of thing a "waste" of money.

Sytha
04-24-2013, 06:31 PM
The City and County of San Francisco is legally required by the State of California to balance its budget each year. This means that revenues and spending are equal.

http://openbook.sfgov.org/

Anything else I can do to ease you folks of your biases?

do you live in SF?

Peter1469
04-24-2013, 07:13 PM
It is demonstrably true that non-fossil fuel tech is cheaper -- but the environmental movement is focused on pie in the sky stuff.

Chloe
04-24-2013, 07:15 PM
It is demonstrably true that non-fossil fuel tech is cheaper -- but the environmental movement is focused on pie in the sky stuff.

I recently read that there are more solar energy related jobs than there are coal energy related jobs. It's progressing in my opinion.

Peter1469
04-24-2013, 07:26 PM
I recently read that there are more solar energy related jobs than there are coal energy related jobs. It's progressing in my opinion.

Solar on a micro level is pretty cost effective. The problem is storing the energy and returning unused energy to the grid. That is where technology has not caught up- and is way too expensive.

I was referring to alcohol fuels. 18th century chemical engineering can create an alcohol economy (for transportation purposes) at less cost than fossil fuels. And it does not need to compete with food crops. The original Model T ran off both alcohol and gas.

Common
04-26-2013, 05:10 AM
Solar on a micro level is pretty cost effective. The problem is storing the energy and returning unused energy to the grid. That is where technology has not caught up- and is way too expensive.

I was referring to alcohol fuels. 18th century chemical engineering can create an alcohol economy (for transportation purposes) at less cost than fossil fuels. And it does not need to compete with food crops. The original Model T ran off both alcohol and gas.

Big Oil and Big Farm Conglomerate lobbiests would never allow anything like that to pass congress unfortunately. We cant even get taxpayer handout subsidies to them stopped.