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Recycling & Compost Recycling & Compost Training Training

20152015

San Francisco’s Waste Reduction GoalsSan Francisco’s Waste Reduction Goals

● 75% of Waste Diverted From Landfill by 2010.

● Zero Waste to Landfill by 2020.

● SF currently diverts 80% of all discards from landfill.

● It will require the participation of ALL businesses & residents to reach our goals.

Zero Waste 2020

Mandatory Recycling and Composting Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance for All SF Businesses & ResidentsOrdinance for All SF Businesses & Residents

Recycling

Compost

Trash

Three ChoicesThree Choices

What to RecycleWhat to Recycle

Paper White paper Colored office paper Envelopes File folders Post-It Notes &

Staples are ok

Cardboard

What to RecycleWhat to Recycle

Glass Bottles & Jars Food & drink

containers only Empty before

recycling

What to RecycleWhat to Recycle

Almost All Plastic Water & Juice Bottles Milk Jugs Rigid Tubs & Lids Clamshell Containers Plant Containers

What to RecycleWhat to Recycle

Aluminum Cans, Foil & Trays Steel & Tin Cans

What to CompostWhat to Compost

Food Scraps Food-related Paper

Products Paper towels,

napkins, plates & paper cups

Waxed cardboard, milk and juice cartons

Compostable Plastics (only with green label)

What to CompostWhat to Compost

● Paper towels from rest rooms are collected for compost as well.

● Composting paper towels reduces waste and green house gases!

Very Few Items Belong in the TrashVery Few Items Belong in the Trash

PLASTIC BAGS

WRAPPERS

PLASTIC WRAP

STYROFOAM

HARD TO RECYCLE PACKAGING

Central Office Collection StationCentral Office Collection Station

All 3 containers placed together Less trash with more recycling and composting

Don’t Throw These in TrashDon’t Throw These in Trash

Please ~ No Electronic Devices

Inside there are Toxic Materials

Don’t Throw These in TrashDon’t Throw These in Trash

Please ~ No Batteries, Lampsor Ink/Toner Cartridges

Inside there are Toxic Materials

Avoid ContaminationAvoid Contamination

Clean white office paper is made into new white office paper and high quality tissue products

Mixed paper becomes cereal boxes, paper towels & tissues

Cardboard becomes new boxes Recycled glass bottles are used to make new

glass bottles and jars Recycled plastic bottles can be used to make

new products like carpet and fleece vests and jackets

Food scraps are composted and sold to farmers, wineries & gardeners

Recycling is processed at Pier 96 on San Francisco’s Southern Waterfront. A state of the art facility was constructed to separate mixed recyclables into different commodities to be sold to recycling markets.

Mixed materials enter the west side of the building

After sorting, separated commodities are ready for sale to recyclers

Recycle CentralRecycle Central

Mixed recycling is loaded onto conveyor lines which transport the material to the top of a two-story platform.

On the platform, mechanical & manual separation is used to sort the recyclables into individual commodities. Plastic bags cause significant equipment problems and shutdowns.

Workers on the platform pull cardboard, paper, plastics & glass and drop them into corresponding bins where the material is collected at the ground level.

Glass is sorted by color. Plastics are separated by type. Paper is separated by grade (mixed paper, white paper, newspaper, cardboard, etc.). Steel & Aluminum are captured by magnets and air currents.

Separated materials are compacted into bales and are ready for end markets. Manufacturers purchase the commodities and make them into other plastic, paper, glass, and metal products.

Most recyclable materials are sold to manufacturers in China & other Pacific Rim countries. While we have a good system in place, it is always best to Reduce our consumption, Reuse existing materials, & then to Recycle.

Compostable material is taken to Jepson Prairie Organics in Vacaville for processing.

Jepson Prairie OrganicsJepson Prairie Organics

Plastic Bags Are The Primary Contaminant Plastic Bags Are The Primary Contaminant That Is Removed From CompostThat Is Removed From Compost

Compostable material is ground into small pieces and formed into piles.

The piles are covered with a breathable fabric that accelerates the natural cycle of decomposition with higher temperatures.

After 45 days the covers are removed and the material is turned for another 30 days and allowed to cure in the sun.

In 75 days food scraps and paper products are transformed into a nutrient rich soil amendment, COMPOST!

The finished product COMPOST is used by vineyards and in organic farming applications to grow more food and trees.

Using compost means pesticides aren’t required, soil fertility is increased, water is conserved, and soil erosion is mitigated.

Be A HeroBe A Hero

Fight Climate Change• For every 1 ton of mixed paper recycled, about 4.3

tons of CO2e are avoided.Save the Forests• Recycling 1 ton of paper saves about 24 trees and

7,000 gallons of water.Clean the Air and Water• Recycling metals reduces air pollution by 85% and

water pollution by 75%.Save Energy• You could watch more than 2½ hours of television

with the energy saved from recycling just one aluminum can.

Help the Economy• Recycling creates six times as many jobs as

landfilling.

ResourcesResources RecycleWhere - www.recyclewhere.org

where to recycle and properly dispose of just about everything!

WhatBin.com - www.whatbin.com/index.php?r=site/index&city=San%20Francisco&id=82

SF Green Business Program - www.sfgreenbusiness.org

Stop Junk Mail Kit - www.stopjunkmail.org

SCRAP – www.scrap-sf.org accepts donations of clean, reusable materials from

businesses.

For More InformationFor More Information

www.SFEnvironment.org (415) 355-3745 Email ~ environment@sfgov.org