San Francisco Department of the Environment Announces Grant Recipients to Support Zero Waste Goals

The San Francisco Department of the Environment announced 6 award recipients of the Zero Waste grant program, which provides grants to local non-profits and other community groups to help the City achieve its goal of Zero Waste by 2020, totaling $150,000.

“Partnering with local non-profits to help us achieve zero waste by 2020 is an integral part of our strategy,” said Melanie Nutter, Director San Francisco Department of the Environment. “From employing formerly homeless adults to serve as zero waste ambassadors to diversion of materials suitable for arts and educational purposes, our non-profit grant partners have helped the City achieve 78 percent landfill diversion,” added Nutter.

"Community Housing Partnership's Zero Waste grant supports our Recycling and Environmental Awareness Program that trains formerly homeless individuals to teach their fellow residents in supportive housing which materials should be placed in recycling and composting bins," said Kelly Meehan, Environmental Program Coordinator with Community Housing Partnership. "Graduates of our program are placed into short-term waste diversion positions at large street fairs and monitor recycling and composting programs in 47 supportive housing buildings, resulting in the diversion of over two million pounds of waste from landfill each year," added Meehan.

Since 1984, the San Francisco Department of the Environment has awarded over $13 million in grants and provided hands-on technical assistance to local non-profits working towards the City’s goal of Zero Waste. The funds for the grant program come from refuse rates and are competitively bid through a grant solicitation process administered by the Department of the Environment. The next grant cycle is Spring on 2013.

The Zero Waste grantees are:

• The Supportive Housing Employment Collaborative ($25,000) will offer formerly homeless adults the opportunity to participate in a paid Recycling and Environmental Awareness Internship Program which will train interns in environmental, waste management and community outreach practices. This program will divert waste by implementing recycling and composting programs in supportive housing sites where the interns reside and from events within San Francisco. http://www.chp-sf.org/
   
• San Francisco Clean City Coalition ($38,000) will continue to operate a wood furniture refurbishing and pallet repair program that will divert waste from landfill. This program will develop a free standing new green business that hires from populations with multiple barriers to employment. The staff will partake of new green training programs; learning basic carpentry, furniture repair, and wood working skills. http://www.sfcleancity.com/
   
• Garden for the Environment ($38,000) will offer free backyard composting and vermicomposting workshops for residents of San Francisco, conduct the Gardening Composting Educator Training Program and a school field trip program, while ensuring that San Francisco residents continue to divert organic material from landfill through backyard composting. http://www.gardenfortheenvironment.org/
   
• San Francisco Conservation Corp ($24,000) will provide greening services for events in San Francisco to increase awareness of recycling and composting practices amongst attendees, producers and corps members, helping events in San Francisco get closer to zero waste and comply with the Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance. http://www.sfcc.org/
   
• Scroungers for Reuseable Art Parts ($15,000) will increase the diversion of materials suitable for arts and educational purposes while promoting creative reuse - through outreach to businesses and residents, providing free pick-ups, maintaining a materials depot for the public, and education to school children and adults at field trips, workshops and community events. http://www.scrap-sf.org/
   
• Loved Twice ($10,000) will establish donation collection sites and clothing drives for baby clothes throughout San Francisco in order to both divert textiles from landfill and clothe newborns in need with quality recycled baby clothing for the first year of life. Loved Twice works with social workers to identify new mothers who are in need, particularly at risk mothers experiencing extreme challenges including homelessness, poverty, violence and teen pregnancy. Through this program Loved Twice intends to divert 5 tons of baby clothes from landfill. http://lovedtwice.org/