News

July 30, 2009

'Black Gold' Rush in San Francisco

San Francisco restaurateur-turned-Mayor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill that requires restaurants to separate food scraps and other compostable materials from their recyclables and trash.

The first-of-its-kind law also mandates that restaurants sign up for a service to haul the compostable refuse to a composting center. The requirements also apply to every other type of business and household in San Francisco.

Failure to comply could result in fines of up to $1,000. However, the penalty is capped at $100 for businesses that generate less than a cubic yard of refuse per week.

"San Francisco already converts over 400 tons of food scraps and other compostable discards into high-grade organic compost every day," Newsom wrote in a blog posting carried by GreenBiz.com and other Web sites. "By requiring all residents and businesses to compost, we'll increase the amount of 'black gold' available for sustainable regional agriculture and improve our environment."

The measure was supported by the Golden Gate Restaurant Association (GGRA). "The legislation was a strong example of a good government process," says GGRA executive director Kevin Westlye. "All of the stakeholders participated in trying to balance their individual needs while working to achieve the overall goal of reducing landfill."

San Francisco's Department of the Environment has estimated that 36 percent of what the city currently sends to landfills could be composted. Most of that volume consists of food scraps, it says.

Foodservice operators have been advised by the city's government to put a pail in their kitchens for food scraps, and set up three color-coded receptacles in dining rooms where customers bus their own trays. A blue container would be reserved for recyclables, a green one for compostables and a black one for remaining trash.