San Diego plan: Zero waste by 2040

San Diego has begun a process of meetings and discussions to get to the point of zero waste by 2040. City officials hope to be recycling 100% of waste within twenty-six years. The current percentage of waste re-used stands at a respectable 68%.

While we should be reasonably happy about that percentage, our recycling rate has not improved in the past three years. The state of California has set guidelines requiring the state to average 75% recycling of at least 75% of their waste by 2020, just six years away, but that is not a local regulation. In order to move toward both goals, the Environmental Services Department of the city of San Diego has begun a series of meetings for the purpose of formulating and designing a Zero Waste Plan.

Session One was held last Wednesday and Thursday, July 23/24 and entailed preliminary strategies, global and regional initiatives and feedback from participants, who are referred to as “stakeholders”.

Future meeting will go over the machinery of financing the effort, what are the current projects in place to address zero waste, and what new programs must be implemented. One trigger of this effort is the fact that the City and County’s primary waste disposal site, the Miramar Landfill, is almost full and scheduled f0r closure in 2022, just eight years from now.

The upcoming Zero Waste Stakeholder Meetings are:

Session Two: Overview and Analysis of Stakeholder Input: Wednesday, Aug. 27: 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at 9601 Ridgehaven Ct. * Thursday, Aug. 28: 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Metro Biosolids Conference Center, 5240 Convoy St.

Session Three: Draft Plan Presentation for Consultation and Feedback: Wednesday, Sept. 10: 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at 9601 Ridgehaven Ct. * Thursday, Sept. 11: 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Metro Biosolids Conference Center, 5240 Convoy St.

Session Four: Finalizing the Draft Plan for City Council: Monday, Sept. 22: 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Metro Biosolids Conference Center, 5240 Convoy St. * Tuesday, Sept. 23: 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at 9601 Ridgehaven Ct.

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