San Francisco implementing mandatory composting

Mandatory recycling laws are already in place in several other cities, including Seattle, Philadelphia and San Diego, but the City of San Francisco would be the first to introduce mandatory composting. The City By the Bay has long prided itself on being one of the greenest cities in the U.S., but if a proposed law is passed, residents will soon find themselves "required by law" to compost as well.

In addition to mandating all residents adopt composting, the proposed ordinance requires landlords provide adequate recycling and composting bins for their tenants. Compostable and recyclable materials would also be banned from the city's transfer station, enabling trash collectors to enforce the rule by simply rejecting the bins that contain "incorrect" materials.
But truth be known, it was a series of perks that turned the voluntary recycling program into a success.

Case in point is the incentive to PayLess, as customers who use smaller garbage carts pay lower prices. The other perk is, the finished compost generated by the city, which is approved for use on organic soils, is then sold at local farms and vineyards. The mandatory composting law is expected to be approved by year's end.

So while San Francisco has achieved the nation's highest recycling rates of diverting 70% of its trash from landfills, just think what we can do on Guam by adopting the simple act of daily composting.

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