City Composting a Mandate? San Francisco’s New Law and Why it Exists

Posted by Cathy England
June 26th, 2009
Filed in Compost
Tags: City laws, composting, environment, landfills

Many organic gardeners already use composting practices in their yards, on their decks, or in their kitchens.  However, what if city composting became a mandate in your area, and you complied or were fined?  Would you be as much of a fan of composting at that point?

Well San Francisco has very recently passed a law requiring that all city residents separate their appropriate food waste into a separate bin.  So now instead of glass, metal, and paper, there is also a bin for kitchen scraps and other food.  There is no indication in the law that those already composting will be disallowed from continuing their activity.  It seems that the city is just not accepting food waste to go to the landfills.

San Francisco has been well ahead of the curve in it’s recycling and composting approaches.  For years, the city has been working with apartment building, restaurants, and businesses on a voluntary basis to begin saving food and yard scraps from entering the landfills.

How in the world is this much compost used?

Already, the city has used the rich compost to sell back to community farms, wineries, and residential gardeners.  There is such high demand for this “San Francisco Gold”, that they are often unable to keep up with demand.  This is encouraging news given the fact that this proves that not only is this law smart, it is also useful and profitable.

California is well know for its abundance of wineries, and for the terrific wine that they produce.  That can in part be contributed to the initiative that the city started in 1996.  Companies are selling the product back to the consumer for $12 a square foot, and for those who do not want to be bother with composting in their own yards, this would be a small price to pay.

There should be no harm in collecting from everyone in the city, as it is hard to imagine a scenario in which such well tended compost will not be in high demand.  In fact, in some cases, it would be a boon to those who are not able to produce enough compost to meet their own gardening needs.

Have other cities passed similar laws?

No, San Francisco is the first to pass such a far reaching law, but other areas have attempted to get voluntary participation from its residents.  New York City has encouraged citizens to participate in this activity on a voluntary basis, but without a lot of luck.

One would think that with the precedent having now been set, it may be on the agendas in cities and municipalities nationwide.  San Francisco has provided a model that works, and one in which most of its residents seem ready to engage in, that it would perhaps be foolish for other cities large and small to try.  Food waste in landfills is a missed opportunity, and its benefits do seem to outweigh the costs.

Not everyone is such a big fan

This is certainly true.  Many people have a hard time with any type of change so heavy-handed, or with any new activities being imposed upon them.  There is much griping on the web about “big brother”, and big government trying to control more of how people live their lives.  This law is being used as an example of more socialism being forced in our country and our lives.

It is surprising that garbage could be such a polarizing issue for some.  It is not clear why there is more resistance to this than there was to mandatory recycling of metal, glass and plastic back in the nineties.  Perhaps much of it is due to lack of knowledge about the subject, or the fact that it’s more personal (“You are what you eat“), but once it becomes a habit, perhaps it will seem like any other routine part of the day.

What’s next?

San Francisco is not imposing fines on anyone who does not follow this law until 2010, which gives residents 6 months to get used to separating their garbage in this way.  The city has a goal to eliminate all landfill waste by the year 2020.  It will certainly be interesting to see if this is something that can actually be accomplished.