SAN FRANCISCO, CA — San Francisco businesses and residents have composted more than 620,000 tons of food, yard debris and other scraps since 1996 through the city’s green cart program, says Recology, the recycling company that serves the town.
The processed material is now used at almost 200 Northern California vineyards and farms, and is heralded as part of a "food-waste-to-fine-wine" effort on the part of San Francisco, the recycling firm and vineyards that produce grapes for several well-known brands.
By composting all that material the city has:
Recology announced San Francisco’s composting stats during Thanksgiving week and issued a reminder — particularly apt for the winter season of holiday feasts — that food scraps and other compostable material be set aside for composting rather than hurled into garbage bins.
“We should never throw peelings, leftovers, coffee grounds, or anything else we can compost in the trash,” Recology CEO Mike Sangiacomo. “Instead place all materials that can be composted in a green collection cart; that is a direct and highly effective way to help protect the environment.”
Recycling and composting became mandatory in San Francisco on October 21. The city has a goal of diverting 75 percent of waste from landfill disposal by 2010, and achieving zero waste by 2020.
In setting the bar higher for the town, waste experts estimate that another 190,000 tons of food waste could be composted by the San Francisco’s businesses and residents.
Recology, renamed from Norcal Waste Systems Inc. this past April, provides recycling services to more than 600,000 households and 60,000 commercial clients in the western U.S.
Image of finished compost courtesy of Recology.