San Francisco County Grand Jury • 2019-2020

City and County of San Francisco

Published: September 02, 2020 32 pages
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Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F5, F6, F7, F8, F9, F10, F11, F12, F13, F14, F15, F16, F17, F18, F19, F20, F21, F22, F23, F24, F25, F26, F27, F28, F29, F30, F31, F32, F33, F34, F35, F36, F37, F38, F39, F40, F41, F42, F43, F44, F45, F46, F47, F48, F49, F50, F51, F52, F53, F54, F55, F56, F57, F58, F59, F60, F61, F62, F63, F64, F65, F66, F67, F68, F69, F70, F71, F72, F73, F74, F75, F76, F77, F78, F79, F80, F81, F82, F83, F84, F85, F86, F87, F88, F89, F90, F91, F92, F93, F94, F95, F96, F97, F98, F99, F100, F101, F102, F103, F104, F105, F106, F107, F108, F109, F110, F111, F112, F113, F114, F115, F116, F117, F118, F119, F120, F121, F122, F123, F124, F125, F126, F127, F128, F129, F130, F131, F132, F133, F134, F135, F136, F137, F138, F139, F140, F141, F142, F143, F144, F145, F146, F147, F148, F149, F150, F151, F152, F153, F154, F155, F156, F157, F158, F159, F160, F161, F162, F163, F164, F165, F166, F167, F168, F169, F170, F171, F172, F173, F174, F175, F176, F177, F178, F179, F180, F181, F182, F183, F184, F185, F186, F187, F188, F189, F190, F191, F192, F193, F194, F195, F196, F197, F198, F199, F200, F201, F202, F203, F204, F205, F206, F207, F208, F209, F210, F211, F212, F213, F214, F215, F216, F217, F218, F219, F220, F221, F222, F223, F224, F225, F226, F227, F228, F229, F230, F231, F232, F233, F234, F235, F236, F237, F238, F239, F240, F241, F242, F243, F244, F245, F246, F247, F248, F249, F250, F251, F252, F253, F254, F255, F256, F257, F258, F259, F260, F261, F262, F263, F264, F265, F266, F267, F268, F269, F270, F271, F272, F273, F274, F275, F276, F277, F278, F279, F280, F281, F282, F283, F284, F285, F286, F287, F288, F289, F290, F291, F292, F293, F294, F295, F296, F297, F298, F299, F300, F301, F302, F303, F304, F305, F306, F307, F308, F309, F310, F311, F312, F313, F314, F315, F316, F317, F318, F319, F320, F321, F322, F323, F324, F325, F326, F327, F328, F329, F330, F331, F332, F333, F334, F335, F336, F337, F338, F339, F340, F341, F342, F343, F344, F345, F346, F347, F348, F349, F350, F351, F352, F353, F354, F355, F356, F357, F358, F359, F360, F361, F362, F363, F364, F365, F366, F367, F368, F369, F370, F371, F372, F373, F374, F375, F376, F377, F378, F379, F380, F381, F382, F383, F384, F385, F386, F387, F388, F389, F390, F391, F392, F393, F394, F395, F396, F397, F398, F399, F400, F401, F402, F403, F404, F405, F406, F407, F408, F409, F410, F411, F412, F413, F414, F415, F416, F417, F418, F419, F420, F421, F422, F423, F424, F425, F426, F427, F428, F429, F430, F431, F432, F433, F434, F435, F436, F437, F438, F439, F440, F441, F442, F443, F444, F445, F446, F447, F448, F449, F450, F451, F452, F453, F454, F455, F456, F457, F458, F459, F460, F461, F462, F463, F464, F465, F466, F467, F468, F469, F470, F471, F472, F473, F474, F475, F476, F477, F478, F479, F480, F481, F482, F483, F484, F485, F486, F487, F488, F489, F490, F491, F492, F493, F494, F495, F496, F497, F498, F499, F500, F501, F502, F503, F504, F505, F506, F507, F508, F509, F510, F511, F512, F513, F514, F515, F516, F517, F518, F519, F520, F521, F522, F523, F524, F525, F526, F527, F528, F529, F530, F531, F532, F533, F534, F535, F536, F537, F538, F539, F540, F541, F542, F543, F544, F545, F546, F547, F548, F549, F550, F551, F552, F553, F554, F555, F556, F557, F558, F559, F560, F561, F562, F563, F564, F565, F566, F567, F568, F569, F570, F571, F572, F573, F574, F575, F576, F577, F578, F579, F580, F581, F582, F583, F584, F585, F586, F587, F588, F589, F590, F591, F592, F593, F594, F595, F596, F597, F598, F599, F600, F601, F602, F603, F604, F605, F606, F607, F608, F609, F610, F611, F612, F613, F614, F615, F616, F617, F618, F619, F620, F621, F622, F623, F624, F625, F626, F627, F628, F629, F630, F631, F632, F633, F634, F635, F636, F637, F638, F639, F640, F641, F642, F643, F644, F645, F646, F647, F648, F649, F650, F651, F652, F653, F654, F655, F656, F657, F658, F659, F660, F661, F662, F663, F664, F665, F666, F667, F668, F669, F670, F671, F672, F673, F674, F675, F676, F677, F678, F679, F680, F681, F682, F683, F684, F685, F686, F687, F688, F689, F690, F691, F692, F693, F694, F695, F696, F697, F698, F699, F700, F701, F702, F703, F704, F705, F706, F707, F708, F709, F710, F711, F712, F713, F714, F715, F716, F717, F718, F719, F720, F721, F722, F723, F724, F725, F726, F727, F728, F729, F730, F731, F732, F733, F734, F735, F736, F737, F738, F739, F740, F741, F742, F743, F744, F745, F746, F747, F748, F749, F750, F751, F752, F753, F754, F755, F756, F757, F758, F759, F760, F761, F762, F763, F764, F765, F766, F767, F768, F769, F770, F771, F772, F773, F774, F775, F776, F777, F778, F779, F780, F781, F782, F783, F784, F785, F786, F787, F788, F789, F790, F791, F792, F793, F794, F795, F796, F797, F798, F799, F800, F801, F802, F803, F804, F805, F806, F807, F808, F809, F810, F811, F812, F813, F814, F815, F816, F817, F818, F819, F820, F821, F822, F823, F824, F825, F826, F827, F828, F829, F830, F831, F832, F833, F834, F835, F836, F837, F838, F839, F840, F841, F842, F843, F844, F845, F846, F847, F848, F849, F850, F851, F852, F853, F854, F855, F856, F857, F858, F859, F860, F861, F862, F863, F864, F865, F866, F867, F868, F869, F870, F871, F872, F873, F874, F875, F876, F877, F878, F879, F880, F881, F882, F883, F884, F885, F886, F887, F888, F889, F890, F891, F892, F893, F894, F895, F896, F897, F898, F899, F900, F901, F902, F903, F904, F905, F906, F907, F908, F909, F910, F911, F912, F913, F914, F915, F916, F917, F918, F919, F920, F921, F922, F923, F924, F925, F926, F927, F928, F929, F930, F931, F932, F933, F934, F935, F936, F937, F938, F939, F940, F941, F942, F943, F944, F945, F946, F947, F948, F949, F950, F951, F952, F953, F954, F955, F956, F957, F958, F959, F960, F961, F962, F963, F964, F965, F966, F967, F968, F969, F970, F971, F972, F973, F974, F975, F976, F977, F978, F979, F980, F981, F982, F983, F984, F985, F986, F987, F988, F989, F990, F991, F992, F993, F994, F995, F996, F997, F998, F999, F1000, F1001, F1002, F1003, F1004, F1005, F1006, F1007, F1008, F1009, F1010, F1011, F1012, F1013, F1014, F1015, F1016, F1017, F1018, F1019, F1020, F1021, F1022, F1023, F1024, F1025, F1026, F1027, F1028, F1029, F1030, F1031, F1032, F1033, F1034, F1035, F1036, F1037, F1038, F1039, F1040, F1041, F1042, F1043, F1044, F1045, F1046, F1047, F1048, F1049, F1050, F1051, F1052, F1053, F1054, F1055, F1056, F1057, F1058, F1059, F1060, F1061, F1062, F1063, F1064, F1065, F1066, F1067, F1068, F1069, F1070, F1071, F1072, F1073, F1074, F1075, F1076, F1077, F1078, F1079, F1080, F1081, F1082, F1083, F1084, F1085, F1086, F1087, F1088, F1089, F1090, F1091, F1092, F1093, F1094, F1095, F1096, F1097, F1098, F1099, F1100, F1101, F1102, F1103, F1104, F1105, F1106, F1107, F1108, F1109, F1110, F1111, F1112, F1113, F1114, F1115, F1116, F1117, F1118, F1119, F1120, F1121, F1122, F1123, F1124, F1125, F1126, F1127, F1128, F1129, F1130, F1131, F1132, F1133, F1134, F1135, F1136, F1137, F1138, F1139, F1140, F1141, F1142, F1143, F1144, F1145, F1146, F1147, F1148, F1149, F1150, F1151, F1152, F1153, F1154, F1155, F1156, F1157, F1158, F1159, F1160, F1161, F1162, F1163, F1164, F1165, F1166, F1167, F1168, F1169, F1170, F1171, F1172, F1173, F1174, F1175, F1176, F1177, F1178, F1179, F1180, F1181, F1182, F1183, F1184, F1185, F1186, F1187, F1188, F1189, F1190, F1191, F1192, F1193, F1194, F1195, F1196, F1197, F1198, F1199, F1200, F1201, F1202, F1203, F1204, F1205, F1206, F1207, F1208, F1209, F1210, F1211, F1212, F1213, F1214, F1215, F1216, F1217, F1218, F1219, F1220, F1221, F1222, F1223, F1224, F1225, F1226, F1227, F1228, F1229, F1230, F1231, F1232, F1233, F1234, F1235, F1236, F1237, F1238, F1239, F1240, F1241, F1242, F1243, F1244, F1245, F1246, F1247, F1248, F1249, F1250, F1251, F1252, F1253, F1254, F1255, F1256, F1257, F1258, F1259, F1260, F1261, F1262, F1263, F1264, F1265, F1266, F1267, F1268, F1269, F1270, F1271, F1272, F1273, F1274, F1275, F1276, F1277, F1278, F1279, F1280, F1281, F1282, F1283, F1284, F1285, F1286, F1287, F1288, F1289, F1290, F1291, F1292, F1293, F1294, F1295, F1296, F1297, F1298, F1299, F1300, F1301, F1302, F1303, F1304, F1305, F1306, F1307, F1308, F1309, F1310, F1311, F1312, F1313, F1314, F1315, F1316, F1317, F1318, F1319, F1320, F1321, F1322, F1323, F1324, F1325, F1326, F1327, F1328, F1329, F1330, F1331, F1332, F1333, F1334, F1335, F1336, F1337, F1338, F1339, F1340, F1341, F1342, F1343, F1344, F1345, F1346, F1347, F1348, F1349, F1350, F1351, F1352, F1353, F1354, F1355, F1356, F1357, F1358, F1359, F1360, F1361, F1362, F1363, F1364, F1365, F1366, F1367, F1368, F1369, F1370, F1371, F1372, F1373, F1374, F1375, F1376, F1377, F1378, F1379, F1380, F1381, F1382, F1383, F1384, F1385, F1386, F1387, F1388, F1389, F1390, F1391, F1392, F1393, F1394, F1395, F1396, F1397, F1398, F1399, F1400, F1401, F1402, F1403, F1404, F1405, F1406, F1407, F1408, F1409, F1410, F1411, F1412, F1413, F1414, F1415, F1416, F1417, F1418, F1419, F1420, F1421, F1422, F1423, F1424, F1425, F1426, F1427, F1428, F1429, F1430, F1431, F1432, F1433, F1434, F1435, F1436, F1437, F1438, F1439, F1440, F1441, F1442, F1443, F1444, F1445, F1446, F1447, F1448, F1449, F1450, F1451, F1452, F1453, F1454, F1455, F1456, F1457, F1458, F1459, F1460, F1461, F1462, F1463, F1464, F1465, F1466, F1467, F1468, F1469, F1470, F1471, F1472, F1473, F1474, F1475, F1476, F1477, F1478, F1479, F1480, F1481, F1482, F1483, F1484, F1485, F1486, F1487, F1488, F1489, F1490, F1491, F1492, F1493, F1494, F1495, F1496, F1497, F1498, F1499, F1500, F1501, F1502, F1503, F1504, F1505, F1506, F1507, F1508, F1509, F1510, F1511, F1512, F1513, F1514, F1515, F1516, F1517, F1518, F1519, F1520, F1521, F1522, F1523, F1524, F1525, F1526, F1527, F1528, F1529, F1530, F1531, F1532, F1533, F1534, F1535, F1536, F1537, F1538, F1539, F1540, F1541, F1542, F1543, F1544, F1545, F1546, F1547, F1548, F1549, F1550, F1551, F1552, F1553, F1554, F1555, F1556, F1557, F1558, F1559, F1560, F1561, F1562, F1563, F1564, F1565, F1566, F1567, F1568, F1569, F1570, F1571, F1572, F1573, F1574, F1575, F1576, F1577, F1578, F1579, F1580, F1581, F1582, F1583, F1584, F1585, F1586, F1587, F1588, F1589, F1590, F1591, F1592, F1593, F1594, F1595, F1596, F1597, F1598, F1599, F1600, F1601, F1602, F1603, F1604, F1605, F1606, F1607, F1608, F1609, F1610, F1611, F1612, F1613, F1614, F1615, F1616, F1617, F1618, F1619, F1620, F1621, F1622, F1623, F1624, F1625, F1626, F1627, F1628, F1629, F1630, F1631, F1632, F1633, F1634, F1635, F1636, F1637, F1638, F1639, F1640, F1641, F1642, F1643, F1644, F1645, F1646, F1647, F1648, F1649, F1650, F1651, F1652, F1653, F1654, F1655, F1656, F1657, F1658, F1659, F1660, F1661, F1662, F1663, F1664, F1665, F1666, F1667, F1668, F1669, F1670, F1671, F1672, F1673, F1674, F1675, F1676, F1677, F1678, F1679, F1680, F1681, F1682, F1683, F1684, F1685, F1686, F1687, F1688, F1689, F1690, F1691, F1692, F1693, F1694, F1695, F1696, F1697, F1698, F1699, F1700, F1701, F1702, F1703, F1704, F1705, F1706, F1707, F1708, F1709, F1710, F1711, F1712, F1713, F1714, F1715, F1716, F1717, F1718, F1719, F1720, F1721, F1722, F1723, F1724, F1725, F1726, F1727, F1728, F1729, F1730, F1731, F1732, F1733, F1734, F1735, F1736, F1737, F1738, F1739, F1740, F1741, F1742, F1743, F1744, F1745, F1746, F1747, F1748, F1749, F1750, F1751, F1752, F1753, F1754, F1755, F1756, F1757, F1758, F1759, F1760, F1761, F1762, F1763, F1764, F1765, F1766, F1767, F1768, F1769, F1770, F1771, F1772, F1773, F1774, F1775, F1776, F1777, F1778, F1779, F1780, F1781, F1782, F1783, F1784, F1785, F1786, F1787, F1788, F1789, F1790, F1791, F1792, F1793, F1794, F1795, F1796, F1797, F1798, F1799, F1800, F1801, F1802, F1803, F1804, F1805, F1806, F1807, F1808, F1809, F1810, F1811, F1812, F1813, F1814, F1815, F1816, F1817, F1818, F1819, F1820, F1821, F1822, F1823, F1824, F1825, F1826, F1827, F1828, F1829, F1830, F1831, F1832, F1833, F1834, F1835, F1836, F1837, F1838, F1839, F1840, F1841, F1842, F1843, F1844, F1845, F1846, F1847, F1848, F1849, F1850, F1851, F1852, F1853, F1854, F1855, F1856, F1857, F1858, F1859, F1860, F1861, F1862, F1863, F1864, F1865, F1866, F1867, F1868, F1869, F1870, F1871, F1872, F1873, F1874, F1875, F1876, F1877, F1878, F1879, F1880, F1881, F1882, F1883, F1884, F1885, F1886, F1887, F1888, F1889, F1890, F1891, F1892, F1893, F1894, F1895, F1896, F1897, F1898, F1899, F1900, F1901, F1902, F1903, F1904, F1905, F1906, F1907, F1908, F1909, F1910, F1911, F1912, F1913, F1914, F1915, F1916, F1917, F1918, F1919, F1920, F1921, F1922, F1923, F1924, F1925, F1926, F1927, F1928, F1929, F1930, F1931, F1932, F1933, F1934, F1935, F1936, F1937, F1938, F1939, F1940, F1941, F1942, F1943, F1944, F1945, F1946, F1947, F1948, F1949, F1950, F1951, F1952, F1953, F1954, F1955, F1956, F1957, F1958, F1959, F1960, F1961, F1962, F1963, F1964, F1965, F1966, F1967, F1968, F1969, F1970, F1971, F1972, F1973, F1974, F1975, F1976, F1977, F1978, F1979, F1980, F1981, F1982, F1983, F1984, F1985, F1986, F1987, F1988, F1989, F1990, F1991, F1992, F1993, F1994, F1995, F1996, F1997, F1998, F1999, F2000, F2001, F2002, F2003, F2004, F2005, F2006, F2007, F2008, F2009, F2010, F2011, F2012, F2013, F2014, F2015, F2016, F2017, F2018

Findings and Recommendations 5 findings

F1
The high rate of recycling relative to other cities in the United States;
No recommendations for this finding
F2
The commitment of both the San Francisco Department of the Environment and Recology towards recycling;
No recommendations for this finding
F3
The generally positive relationship between the San Francisco Department of the Environment and Recology; and
No recommendations for this finding
F4
The availability, depth of knowledge, and candor of staff at both Recology and the San Francisco Department of the Environment The SFCGJ does feel that Recology and the San Francisco Department of the Environment should increase their level of communication and public awareness with respect to the disposition of recycled material, as it will encourage citizens to take recycling even more seriously. It appears vaguely suspicious that there is plenty of information on how the public is ​ supposed to recycle, but very little information on what actually happens as a result of their actions. We believe this appearance is unintended and benign, but the optics do count. If a person knows that his or her choices will lead to better environmental outcomes and lower waste disposal rates, he or she is more likely to take the time to become well informed and make the right decisions. FINDINGS Based on the facts set forth above, the Civil Grand Jury highlights here its principal Findings. Finding # Findings Required Responses 1 San Francisco Department of the Environment (i) San Francisco and Recology are to be commended for their Department of the commitment to maximizing the effectiveness of Environment their recycling efforts. San Francisco sets a (ii) Mayor’s Office positive, powerful example for how a commitment to recycling can pay off in the form (iii) Board of Supervisors of reduced landfill use. San Francisco Department of the Environment (i) San Francisco and Recology do not provide a sufficient Department of the amount of timely information to the public Environment related to the disposition of material placed in (ii) Mayor’s Office the blue bins. (iii) Board of Supervisors 3 While significant efforts are being made by the (i) San Francisco San Francisco Department of the Environment Department of the and Recology, many residents still struggle to Environment ​​ understand what belongs in the blue bin and (ii) Mayor’s Office what does not. (iii) Board of Supervisors
No recommendations for this finding
F2019
At the same time, the quality requirements have increased: The OCC contaminant standard used to be 2% but now is 1%. Nyssa Baechler, 'Wishful Recycling': More Harm Than Good, Currents: A Student Blog, Navigating Society And Sea (blog), W School Of Marine And Environmental Affairs, Feb 12, 2018, smea.uw.edu/currents/wishful-recycling-more-harm-than-good/ 17 Wishful Recycling, Sustainable Connections(blog), May02, 2020, sustainableconnections.org/wishful-recycling/ 18 Megan Smalley, “Working through the worst of times”, Recycling Today, October 22, 2019, https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/working-through-the-worst-of-recovered-paper-markets/ 2019-2020 CGJ: Recycling Reality Check: What Actually Happens to Things We Put in Our Blue Recycling Bins? 18 Many things have contributed to the volatility and uncertainty of recyclable materials. Prices fluctuate based on the economic cycle, as they did in the recession a decade ago. Prices vary based on location. Politics plays a role, in particular the decision by China and other Asian 19 countries to stop taking foreign sourced, low-quality material and to impose tariffs . China’s decision to stop taking many types of material (the “National Sword Policy”) was a huge shock to the market, as China was by far the largest purchaser of such material. China no longer accepts low-grade mixed paper but does accept higher grade material like double- sorted corrugated. But it’s not that simple: If a US city sends a number of containers full of cardboard to China, one of the containers will be visually (not scientifically) inspected by government officials when they arrive. If the officials reject one container, the sending city will have to find a new buyer and pay to have all the containers shipped there. At that point they’re losing money and impacting the environment with the additional transportation. Given the poor political climate between the two countries, this is a risk that may not be worth taking which decreases the potential number of buyers, and hence the price floor for the material. Another challenging material is glass. At the end of Recology’s Pier 96 processing, glass is collected, but it contains a lot of contaminants because there’s no scalable way to remove tiny bits of junk that make it to this stage of the process. The glass processor has to pick out the usable glass and send the rest to landfill. Recology must pay the disposal fee for the contaminants, and the transport fees. So while Recology does receive a small payment for the glass itself, the associated costs outweigh the payment, and recycling glass is a net expense. This calculation doesn’t include the CRV rebate (see below), which makes a significant difference. The point being made is that the recycling of glass as a “stand-alone” business isn’t profitable. And then there’s plastic. PET and HDPE always have markets, but types 3 through 7 often do not, or the prices obtainable are very low. Because we generate so much plastic waste, municipal recycling efforts have a major burden sorting and disposing of it. Below are the average rates for some of the most common materials. These are the actual prices received by Recology for 2019, and include CRV payments they receive as part of the CRV rebate program administered by the state for aluminum, glass, and plastic. Note that the CRV payments greatly increase the revenue received for those materials. 19 “Recycling Industry Responds to China Tariffs on Paper, Plastics”, Waste360, August 9, 2018, https://www.waste360.com/business/recycling-industry-responds-china-tariffs-paper-plastics 2019-2020 CGJ: Recycling Reality Check: What Actually Happens to Things We Put in Our Blue Recycling Bins? 19 Material Price per Ton Mixed Paper $25 Cardboard $88 PET Plastic $744 Aluminum $3,627 Steel $85 Glass $138 Source: Recology These figures do not show the volatility of the prices. More detailed analysis showed that during 2019, individual monthly commodity prices swung as much as 56% above and 36% below the average for the year. The conclusion is that it is unrealistic to think of municipal recyclables sorting as a profitable business. It is true that certain material (e.g. aluminum and certain plastics) is definitely profitable. But when the entire processing and disposal chain is considered, along with capital investment requirements and business risk, the bottom line is that recycling is something municipalities do because it reduces landfill volume and decreases the burden we place on our environment. It’s not realistic to assume that the revenue from selling the material will even offset the cost of the effort, let alone generate a viable return on investment. This may of course change over time, but it is the situation currently. Take it from the Top: Improving Recycling at the Source Here’s a trick question: How do you recycle packaging that uses materials that can’t be recycled? Answer: You don’t! While it’s true you can come up with innovative solutions, such as turning a ketchup bottle into a flower pot, those solutions simply don’t scale. Instead, what’s needed is to 2019-2020 CGJ: Recycling Reality Check: What Actually Happens to Things We Put in Our Blue Recycling Bins? 20 encourage and incentivize the packaging producers to take more responsibility for the problem, and create packaging that’s viable to recycle. So why don’t producers already do this? Because there are good reasons for them to use non-recyclable packaging, and little incentive not to. Specifically, packaging can make the overall product more attractive or differentiated, and it can reduce costs. To those ends, producers do two things that negatively impact the city’s ability to recycle their packaging: ● They combine materials in such a way that they can’t realistically be recycled. Remember that ketchup bottle? Ever notice how “silky” it looks? That’s because it’s a blend of a number of different plastics, the result being that it’s very difficult to recycle. Individual tea bag envelopes, toothpaste tubes, and potato chip bags have the same problem, combining plastics with non-plastics. ● Packaging producers have created a huge variety of plastics, including exotic types that can’t be realistically recycled at scale. It is simply not true that all plastics in use fit neatly into those numbered categories in the recycling symbol. So the package may indeed be made of a single material, but that material can’t be recycled. Efforts to improve this situation are a component of a broader term known as “sustainable 20 packaging” , and it will take time for these efforts to bear fruit. In the meantime, San Franciscans can do three things to help improve the immediate situation: ● Alter our buying choices based on the package. For example, avoid plastic. Choose glass over plastic, for example for pickle relish or mustard. And definitely avoid flimsy plastic such as bags and film – this material is next to impossible to recycle at scale. ● If you have to buy something wrapped in plastic, favor plastic codes 1 and 2, as San Francisco’s municipal recycling system always recycles these materials. For example, many “clamshell” packages are made of PET (code 1). Just make sure they are clean, and deposited where they will actually be recycled. ● Social media makes it relatively easy for consumers to make their opinion known to the producers. Pressuring them to change their ways may eventually have an effect. Longer term, legal changes will be needed to push the costs of packaging choices back onto the producers, or to force more use of recyclable materials. This is a parallel effort to the more 20 Wikipedia, “Sustainable Packaging”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_packaging 2019-2020 CGJ: Recycling Reality Check: What Actually Happens to Things We Put in Our Blue Recycling Bins? 21 21 well-known laws that simply prohibit certain items such as plastic straws or bags. The California state legislature has been working on proposed legislation that would require single-use packaging to be recyclable: “SB-54 / AB-1080: Solid waste: packaging and products”. However this is still a “work in progress” and is not yet law. If the legislation is not approved by the end of August 2020 (the end of the legislative session), bills are effectively “dead” for the 22 year. San Franciscans concerned about this topic should consider letting their state representatives know how they feel about it. Think you’re a recycling pro?! Take this quiz! San Francisco takes recycling seriously and that includes a lot of its citizens. Think you’re one of those people who can correctly identify recycling opportunities like Steph Curry hits three-pointers? Take this quiz to find out how good you really are! The answers are in the ​ Appendix Item Correct Bin (Blue, Green, Black) 1 Used pizza box 2 Milk or orange juice carton (“aseptic” cartons) 3 Potato chip bag or granola bar wrapper 4 Used tin foil 5 A plastic bag (e.g. for holding lose vegetables) 6 White Amazon pouch (or any padded envelope) 21 Megan Smalley, “Year packed with packaging regulations”, Recycling Today, September 12, 2019, https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/northeast-recycling-council-webinar-extended-producer-responsibility-pack aging-laws/ 22 State of California, “California Legislative Information: AB-1080”, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB1080 2019-2020 CGJ: Recycling Reality Check: What Actually Happens to Things We Put in Our Blue Recycling Bins? 22 7 Wine cork 8 Plastic utensils (not the compostable type) 9 Clothing 10 To-go coffee cup, sleeve, and rigid plastic lid Conclusion Recycling at the municipal level isn’t particularly complex, but it is a dynamic business and is not done consistently, even between cities in the same county. There is a level of complexity in the details however, for example when it comes to the use of plastics in packaging. Overall, the SFCGJ was impressed with several aspects of the city’s recycling program and the team that supports it: ● The high rate of recycling relative to other cities in the United States; ● The commitment of both the San Francisco Department of the Environment and Recology towards recycling; ● The generally positive relationship between the San Francisco Department of the Environment and Recology; and ● The availability, depth of knowledge, and candor of staff at both Recology and the San Francisco Department of the Environment The SFCGJ does feel that Recology and the San Francisco Department of the Environment should increase their level of communication and public awareness with respect to the disposition of recycled material, as it will encourage citizens to take recycling even more seriously. It appears vaguely suspicious that there is plenty of information on how the public is ​ supposed to recycle, but very little information on what actually happens as a result of their actions. We believe this appearance is unintended and benign, but the optics do count. If a person knows that his or her choices will lead to better environmental outcomes and lower waste disposal rates, he or she is more likely to take the time to become well informed and make the right decisions. 2019-2020 CGJ: Recycling Reality Check: What Actually Happens to Things We Put in Our Blue Recycling Bins? 23 FINDINGS Based on the facts set forth above, the Civil Grand Jury highlights here its principal Findings. Finding # Findings Required Responses 1 San Francisco Department of the Environment (i) San Francisco and Recology are to be commended for their Department of the commitment to maximizing the effectiveness of Environment their recycling efforts. San Francisco sets a (ii) Mayor’s Office positive, powerful example for how a commitment to recycling can pay off in the form (iii) Board of Supervisors of reduced landfill use. San Francisco Department of the Environment (i) San Francisco and Recology do not provide a sufficient Department of the amount of timely information to the public Environment related to the disposition of material placed in (ii) Mayor’s Office the blue bins. (iii) Board of Supervisors 3 While significant efforts are being made by the (i) San Francisco San Francisco Department of the Environment Department of the and Recology, many residents still struggle to Environment ​​ understand what belongs in the blue bin and (ii) Mayor’s Office what does not. (iii) Board of Supervisors 2019-2020 CGJ: Recycling Reality Check: What Actually Happens to Things We Put in Our Blue Recycling Bins? 24 RECOMMENDATIONS Pursuant to the above Findings, the Civil Grand Jury recommends the following actions.
No recommendations for this finding

Conclusions 4