San Francisco plans to tighten regulations on the disposal of construction and demolition debris to reduce the more than 100,000 tons that end up in the landfill annually instead of being recycled. Supervisor Ahsha Safai introduced legislation that would require those who transport construction and demolition debris for disposal to obtain city permits in an effort to ensure the waste is recycled at city-registered facilities — not illegally dumped.

“It’s going to weed out some of the bad actors,” Safai told the San Francisco Examiner Friday. He said some transporters of the waste have been able to “fly under the radar” and have a business model of paying a lot less to dispose of the waste by taking it straight to the landfill.

Safai’s proposal comes as The City has refocused its efforts to reuse and recycle after having to abandon in 2017 its prior goal to send no waste to the landfill by 2020. Mayor London Breed changed those goals in 2018 to shoot for a 50 percent reduction of solid waste sent to the landfill by 2030, after city officials said the 2020 goal was no longer within reach.

The proposed cost of the permits are based on the size of the vehicle. A pickup permit costs $395 a year, while pickups with a small trailer are $1,200 a year. Larger dump trucks cost $1,600 a year and the largest trucks $2,000.

To read the full story, visit https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/permits-proposed-for-haulers-of-construction-debris-to-achieve-zero-waste/.
Author: Joshua Sabatini, San Francisco Examiner
Image: Emma Chiang, San Francisco Examiner

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