San Francisco doesn’t focus solely on conventional waste streams like green waste; they’re investigating other “wastes” as well.  One of the most innovative is the “SFGreasecycle” which converts the grease from over 75 restaurants into biodiesel for use in Muni and the City’s 1,600 diesel vehicle fleet. It is estimated that these restaurants will generate 1.5 million gallons of biodiesel. Not only will the City save $3.5 million it would have otherwise spent servicing clogged sewer lines - it will also be able to reduce the city’s carbon footprint.

San Francisco’s ultimate goal is to become a zero waste city by 2020. This will involve further increasing consumer responsibility, getting producers to take back products at the end of their useful life, and engaging more businesses. One way they’re doing this is by creating rate incentives – businesses receive discounts on their bill based on their diversion percentage. Perhaps the biggest challenge is getting manufacturer’s to rethink the way they design products so that they last longer and all of their component’s can ultimately be reused, recycled or composted. As Jared Blumenfeld, the Director of San Francisco’s Department of Environment, points out, “Waste doesn’t need to exist. It’s a design flaw.”  

If a City the size of San Francisco can reduce waste so dramatically, just think what your community can do!