SD Food Policy Action Network
City Composting & Recycling
San Diego Environmental Services Department currently collects yard waste only. This includes grass, leaves, shrub clippings, and bundles. This debris is composted for 60-90 days which is available to residents for free or a small fee. Additionally, this compost is tested regularly for contaminants.
1 in 10 Proposal: We would like to see the yard waste program expanded to include residential food waste to be composted. We also propose that the compost be available to residents for free.
IN THE NEWS: The Voice of San Diego had a nice article in September of 2009, entitled "Next Recycling Target." While focusing on the positive, the title hints at the obstacles we confront. The next target is composting, but City of San Diego lags behind other cities by decades on recycling as well as composting. Politicians have been slow to recognize the importance of both. While San Francisco and Los Angeles have achieved city-wide recycling services that extend to plastics, such as yogurt cups, plastic flatware, etc., the City has yet to mandate recycling services for San Diego's many apartment dwellers, much less include a full range of recyclables. And while large institutions such as Point Loma Nazarene University are helping the City to recognize the feasibility of composting by using services at Miramar Landfill, advocates fear that the current considerations around privatizing ownership of the landfill could stop this positive trend toward more services and free compost and mulch for urban farmers.
We need the Cities of San Diego County to look toward the future and institute city-wide composting and recycling!
1 in 10 Proposal: We would like to see the yard waste program expanded to include residential food waste to be composted. We also propose that the compost be available to residents for free.
IN THE NEWS: The Voice of San Diego had a nice article in September of 2009, entitled "Next Recycling Target." While focusing on the positive, the title hints at the obstacles we confront. The next target is composting, but City of San Diego lags behind other cities by decades on recycling as well as composting. Politicians have been slow to recognize the importance of both. While San Francisco and Los Angeles have achieved city-wide recycling services that extend to plastics, such as yogurt cups, plastic flatware, etc., the City has yet to mandate recycling services for San Diego's many apartment dwellers, much less include a full range of recyclables. And while large institutions such as Point Loma Nazarene University are helping the City to recognize the feasibility of composting by using services at Miramar Landfill, advocates fear that the current considerations around privatizing ownership of the landfill could stop this positive trend toward more services and free compost and mulch for urban farmers.
We need the Cities of San Diego County to look toward the future and institute city-wide composting and recycling!
