The purpose of this petition is not to stall or get in the way of the City’s efforts to meet its mandates on SB1383 and AB1826. As a social enterprise that has been at the forefront of offering community scale composting services, Food2Soil sees certain gaps in the City’s planned rollout of the organics recycling program. These gaps penalize citizens for wasting less and recycling in their neighborhoods. They also eliminate CRMC’s from the marketplace thus leaving the playing field exclusively for large franchise haulers and reducing the choice of service providers available to residents and businesses.

Download the letter to the Mayor and City Council in which we propose revisions to SDMC Sections §66.0713, §66.0715, §66.0109c, §66.0117b, §66.0706, §66.0707 and §66.0715e.


OUR RIGHT TO COMMUNITY COMPOST
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The Gaps In Curbside Food Waste Recycling

a one size fits all solution that penalizes citizens for wasting less and recycling responsibly
TL ; Dr? (Too Long; Didn't Read)

There is no process in place for home based composters and Food2Soil members to opt-out or request a waiver from the mandatory hauler provided green organics bin.

The hauler’s smallest green bin (32 gallon cart) is too big for the average household and takes away valuable soil building nutrients from our communities.

​Food2Soil will be leading a respectful campaign to fill in the gaps in policy and we hope you will join us.


THE PLOT
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SB 1383 (the Short Lived Climate Pollutants Reduction Act) enabled cities to force waste haulers into providing curbside food waste recycling services to all their customers.

Pursuant to SB1383, the City of San Diego revised its municipal code requiring its franchise haulers to offer a bundle of all three services - trash (black bin), recycling (blue bin) and organics (green bin) to all residents and businesses (generators). The smallest container offered by haulers is a 32 gallon cart and the lowest service frequency is weekly.

On average a household of four generates about 5 gallons of food waste every week. A 32 gallon green bin is overkill if a generator does not have yard trimmings to commingle with the food waste. Many generators do not have the space for a third cart and would prefer a container that is sized for their needs.

Local municipal codes and SB1383 protect a generator’s right to manage their organic waste onsite, self-haul their recyclables (items that would otherwise go in your blue or green bin) to a composting or recycling center, or contract with certified third party service providers (a.k.a CRMC’s or Certified Recyclables Material Collectors) such as Food2Soil for recycling services.

So far so good? Perfect! The plot thickens hereon after, so don’t go away.
LOVE CODE?
SB1383 §18984.9 Organic Waste Generator Requirements (Page 71 of the hyperlinked document) allows generators to manage their organic waste onsite or self-haul their organic waste to a community composting site.
​Article 6 §66.0715 of the San Diego Municipal Code (Page 19 of the hyperlinked document) aligns with SB 1383 in allowing generators to self-haul their organic waste to a recycling site.


THE TWISTS IN THE PLOT
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Some municipalities offer waivers for self-hauling, onsite management, minimum volumes and space constraints.

A generator is allowed to unsubscribe or opt-out of a certain collection service (blue and/or green cart) if they receive a waiver. It is not clear though, if the hauler will reduce the waste & recycling fee for generators who receive a waiver. We have anectodal evidence that haulers are continuing to charge the same bundled fee (black+blue+green) regardless of waivers.

​This needs to change.
Waiver = Fee Reduction For The Waived Service
Revise the municipal code to include language requiring haulers to not charge for the services that the generator has received waiver(s) for.
Small volume, residential generators do not qualify for self hauling waivers, period.

The County of San Diego’s self-hauler registration application is limited to generators discarding 1 cubic yard or more of total waste per week.
The City of San Diego only allows commercial and multi-family properties (5 units or more) to register as self-haulers. It does not recognize self-hauling activities of residential generators.

This means that as a Food2Soil participant, the time and effort you take to self-haul your food scraps to a community composting site means nothing to your local government. You are required to subscribe and pay your waste hauler for a green bin you do not need and will not use.
Allow Residential Generators To Apply For Self-Hauling Waivers
Revise the municipal code and create a streamlined process allowing residential generators using community composting sites to apply for self-haul waivers.


UNRAVELLING THE TWISTS
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As a Food2Soil participant you get composting service at a very affordable $15 per month or $5 per bucket. Your composting experience is clean and your collection container takes up minimal space in your kitchen or patio. What’s most important is that your scraps feed the local soil and you have access to the finished compost to grow your own food.

Current waste management policies force us to keep paying into a system that takes resources away from our communities. They penalize citizens who waste less and recycle locally by forcing them to pay twice. Once for the service they have chosen (like Food2Soil) and then again for the service their local government has chosen for them (a flat rate for a bundled service).

​Last but not the least, these policies are interfering with the market by eliminating small, community based operators from the playing field and creating monopoly like market dynamics in favor of the large companies.
Closing The Gaps
A policy change campaign that respects the citizen's right to self-haul and allows small operators to compete in the marketplace

We hope you will join us in this campaign.

Please click on the button below to share your thoughts on this subject. Your feedback will help inform our campaign and shape our asks for the policy revisions. Thank you!
so it doesn’t penalize citizens who compost onsite, in their neighborhoods and with CRMC’s.

Food2Soil Composting Collective was started in 2015 by Inika Small Earth, Inc as a community supported social enterprise. Inika Small Earth is a 501c(3) tax exempt corporation that works on fostering a circular economy that is enterprise-driven, people-powered and community-centered.

CONTACT US
info@food2soil.net