October 16, 2012 - Mayor Edwin M. Lee announced that San Francisco achieved an 80 percent landfill diversion rate, setting records as the highest of any city in North America.*
San Francisco diverts 80 percent of all materials discarded in the City away from landfill through source reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting. The City’s zero waste programs, in partnership with Recology, helped San Francisco become Greenest City in North America.
Acheiving our Zero Waste Climate Action Goals
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors and Mayor established the goal of sending zero waste to landfill by 2020. This past decade, San Francisco reduced trash to landfill by half.
Half of what goes to landfill – 444,000 tons of material – could be recycled or composted. Although we did not achieve our zero waste goal by 2020, our city has two new Zero Waste goals: to reduce landfill by 50% by 2030 and to reduce solid waste generation by 15% by 2030.
- Sort recyclables and compostables into the correct bins.
- Recycle soft plastics (plastic film, bags) at San Francisco supermarkets.
- Safely and securely dispose of medicine at a drop-off site for unused medicine.
- Use Recology's home pickup service for bulky items or electronics.
*City is defined as 100,000 people or more.