HomeMy WebLinkAbout4A Public CommentAgenda Correspondence
Received Prior to 04/08/2021
Batch One
Anthony Mejia
To: kimffloyd@fastmail.com
Subject: RE: Public Comment City Council April 8, 2021 Item 4A
Anthony J. Mejia, MMC
City Clerk
From: kimffloyd@fastmail.com <kimffloyd@fastmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2021 4:42 PM
To: City Clerk <CityClerk@palmspringsca.gov>
Subject: Public Comment City Council April 8, 2021 Item 4A
E
Item 4A Support: Sierra Club Supports Full Implementation of SB 1383
Dear Palm Springs City Council Members and Staff,
As you probably know, jurisdictions across the state are working hard to stop dumping organic material into landfills, as
called for by SB 1383 "Short-Lived Climate Pollutants: Organic Waste Methane Emissions Reductions." Sierra Club
supports you to make rapid progress to divert organics from landfills.
Nearly one in four Californians suffer from food insecurity. Yet more than 11 billion pounds of food is wasted every year
in California. According to LA Times. "the typical American adult wastes about $3.50 worth of food every day." Organic
waste, including food waste, decomposes in landfills releasing methane emissions that account for 20% of the state's
methane. Since methane is a short-lived climate super pollutant 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide, reducing
methane has the fastest impact on the climate crisis.
According to the Legislative Analyst's Office. organic waste reduction is one of the cheapest forms of greenhouse gas
reductions. And according to a well-known report The Business and Societal Case for Reducing Food Waste by ReFED:
• "Restaurants
• and foodservice providers could gain the largest profit boost"
• "Food
• waste solutions are a strong engine for job creation."
• Consumer
• education campaigns have the smallest cost and biggest benefit.
Palm Springs can act individually and/or partner with other cities to form regional Organic Waste Reduction Campaigns
with three excellent results:
• Feed ITEMNO. '.\ ~
1 o ll / o ~ /1-0--u
• the Hungry
• Conserve
• Natural Resources
• Slow
• Down Climate Change
Attached is Sierra Club's recommended actions for organic waste reduction . We know SB 1383 implementation is not
easy, and would raise collection fees. But this is important, and the results will be worth the effort.
Last but not least, thank you for your continuing work on a single-use plastic ordinance. Recently, during the State
Assembly Natural Resources Committee's hearing on AB-1276 Single-Use Food Accessories and Service Ware, Recology
(a waste management company) showed strong support, and said the bill would help meet SB 1383's requirement on
minimizing contamination.
Please let me know how local Sierra Club members can help. Thanks!
Kim F Floyd
Conservation Chair
San Gorgonio Chapter
(Riverside and San Bernardino counties)
Sierra Club
2
ORGANIC WASTE REDUCTION ACTIONS
January 27, 2021
In 2016, California passed Senate Bill 1383 Short-Lived Climate Pollutants that requires all jurisdictions to
ensure their waste transfer/processing facilities and operations increase diversion away from landfills of
organic waste, recover edible food , and purchase recovered organic waste products such as compost,
fertilizers, biofuels and paper.1 California must divert 50% of organic2 waste landfill disposal by 2020, and
75% by 2025. In addition, by 2025, edible food recovery must be increased by 20% for distribution to
people in need. The state as a whole didn't meet the 2020 target. Enforcement will start in 2022.
Noncompliance will face penalty amounts of up to $10,000 a day from 2024.
Org a nic Waste Is the Large st Waste Stream in Cali f ornia
CALIFORNIA DISPOSED OF
APPROXIMATELY
27 MILLION TONS OF
ORGANIC WASTE IN 2017
IN CALIFORNIA, MILLIONS ARE
FOOD INSECURE
NEARLY
1 IN 4 CALIFORNIANS
CALIFORNIA THROWS AwAY
MORE THAN 11 BILLION POUNDS
OF Fooo W ASTE EVERY YEAR!
Cal Recycle~
Besides equity issues, organic waste contributes to many environmental problems:
• Organics decompose in landfills releasing methane emissions of which a sizable fraction escape. 3
According to CalRecycle, methane is "a short-lived climate super pollutant 84 times more potent than
carbon dioxide and a major contributor to climate change."
• Wasting food means wasting the water used to produce it, and the energy used to produce, transport and
dispose it, as well as the water and air pollution caused by these activities.
Sierra Club California supports jurisdictions to act individually and partner with each other and form
regional Organic Waste Reduction Campaigns with three outcomes:
• Feed the Hungry
• Conserve Natural Resources
• Slow Down Climate Change
1 California Code of Regulations Article 6.0. Transfer/Processing Operations and Facilities Regulatory Requirements.
2 Note that "organic" in this material refers to waste that is of biological origin, it does not refer to "certified organic foods."
3 California Air Resources Board reports 8.63 million tons CO2eq annually escape from CA landfills.
1
LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACTIONS:
1. Incorporate organic waste diversion as a multi-benefit initiative including feeding hungry people,
producing clean energy and healthy soil, reducing climate and air pollution.
2. Immediately develop food recovery programs, which are especially important during the current
socioeconomical crisis:
a. Support and fund programs and organizations that rescue edible food and fight food insecurity.
b. Collaborate with neighboring cities and county on public education programs to prevent and reduce
food waste in businesses and homes.
3. Adopt strong ordinances for rapid reduction of organic waste, including but not limited to:
a. Implement source separated collection programs with at least three containers: organic waste,
recyclables, and trash.
b. Develop zero waste goals and implementation plans.
4. Implement programs to reduce contamination of waste stream and increase recovery rates of all
recyclables and all organics.
a. Launch public education campaigns financed by increased trash fees as authorized by SB 13 83.
b. Educate people, and support home and community composting that doesn't generate methane.
c. Regulate the use of pesticides and herbicides that can contaminate greenwaste.
d. Regulate the use of single-use foodware that is plastic or contains PF AS ( commonly known as
"forever chemicals").
5. Immediately adopt procurement policies that follow the State's Environmentally Preferred Purchasing
guide, and conduct public education on appropriate compostable products that support organics
diversion programs.
6. Require all anaerobic digestion and compost facilities report results of regular surveys for methane
leaks.
7. Regularly and prominently post progress reports online documenting the status of their efforts on
reducing contamination, increasing recovery rates, diminishing methane from all facilities including
landfills, purchasing of recycled products, etc.
SB 1383 IN
ACTION
JURISDICTION
REQUIREMENTS
Maintain Records and
Report to CalRecycle
Organic
Collection
Services
Edible Food
Recovery
Program
Recordkeeping Requirements:
Hauler
Program
Recycled
Organic Waste
Procurement
Contamination
Minimization
Recycled
Paper
Procurement
Waivers
Commercial
Edible Food
Generators
Education &
Outreach
Jurisdiction
Inspection &
Enforcement
Cal Recycle~
2
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Credit: CR&R Environmental Services
Biogas Systems
The Basics
Credit: American Biogas Council
Anaerobic digestion (AD) uses anaerobic bacteria to digest the organics in the absence of oxygen (in a
completely closed system) and produce methane (similar to the process that produced fossil natural gas millions
of years ago) plus CO2. After the digestion, there remains a liquid and solid digestate full ofhigh quality nutrients
useful as compost, soil amendment, or liquid or dry fertilizer.
Credit: Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority dba RecycleSmart
SAVE WATER
Compost helps your soil
retain water and helps slow
down soil erosion .
Composting uses different aerobic bacteria to digest the organics in the presence of oxygen, which does not
produce methane (but does release an amount of CO2 similar to that produced in AD). The digestion produces a
solid compost, which can be used as a soil amendment or dry fertilizer. However, if the composted material is
wet (such as food waste), it needs considerable energy to power fan-blown air to constantly circulate through
the compost pile or windrow to keep the anaerobic bacteria from digesting the food and releasing methane.4
Soil amendments from organic waste streams in California represent a potential $200-400 million market in
California, exceeding the likely value of energy products from the resource. 5
Both AD and composting can be done with solid wastes from humans and industry, such as sewage wastewater
sludge, but in that case the resulting fertilizer may have contaminants including heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, 6
etc., which may make it unusable on food crops or organic farms, and also greatly reduce its profitability. So the
most desirable option is to process food waste and green waste separately from sludge.
4 Production of large amounts of methane from a composting facility in the Bay Area was observed in 2020 by planes from the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
5 CA Short-Lived Climate Reduction Strategy (2017) p. 31.
6 A recent study of composting examined its ability to break down IO pharmaceutical and personal-care product residues in
biosolids collected from a wastewater treatment plant in San Diego. Fatih Bliyliksonmez, of San Diego State University's
department of civil and environmental engineering, found that composting for 45 days reduced residues of 9 out of 10 products
by at least 85 percent.
3