Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

City report confronts problem of food container recycling

"Banning their use is the best solution."

The city's technical report tallied up the pros and cons of styrofoam food containers
The city's technical report tallied up the pros and cons of styrofoam food containers

Polystyrene food containers will continue to end up in San Diego's landfills, according to a report to the city council this week.

The containers are too likely to contaminate the other recyclables with food waste and there isn't much of a market for the recycled material, the consultant's report said.

Breakdown of recyclable materials collected in the city's blue bins in 2015. The three fiber commodities — newspaper, cardboard, and mixed paper (magazines, junk mail, etc.) — are 77.5% of the material.

The city Environmental Services Department had identified the food containers as one of a number of materials that had the potential to be recycled and sought more information on how it would pencil out. The department already diverts more than 67 percent of the trash it collects away from the landfill and to recycling; under the Zero Waste goals set in 2015, the trash haulers are aiming for 75 percent by 2020.

By comparison, in 1995, about 39 percent of trash was recycled, city recycling manager Ken Prue said.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"San Diego was aggressive about recycling then," he said. And even though population has grown by more than 200,000 people, the total tonnage of trash we generate has remained at about 1.5 million tons a year.

"We're already recycling the items that make up the large part of what can be recycled," Prue said. "Now we're looking at the smaller items. We work by weight — it comes down to where there's opportunity." The city does recycle larger pieces of polystyrene, including the styrofoam forms used as protective packing for products such as printers and TVs, but not styro "peanuts."

Prue said that residents recycled about 46 tons of such packaging last year. That's less than 1 percent of all trash and recycling, by weight. Because of the costs of setting up to recycle food trays, the city would lose about $290,000 in revenue that it normally recovers from recycling, the report says. The trouble with styrofoam containers is that the material doesn't break down on its own, experts say, and it often ends up as litter.

"These containers just can't be safely handled," said Genevieve Abedon of Californians Against Waste. "That's why banning their use is the best solution."

The group estimates that 155,000 tons of the containers end up in California landfills each year.

"Because they're contaminated with food, they can't really be processed — and they're likely to contaminate other valuable recyclables," she said. "We encourage people to bring their own to-go containers."

Contamination by food is a big problem — especially when it comes to paper, Prue said.

"Paper streams — that's newsprint and magazines and cardboard and regular paper — having any type of contaminant reduces the value of the material and the processors can even refuse it because they can't reuse it," Prue said. "Our contracts are based on the highest quality recyclables with the lowest possible contamination and we're looking for the highest revenue."

Why not just encourage restaurants and fast-food joints to switch to other disposable or compostable containers? Relying on packaging that says a material is compostable is a mistake, according to Abedon.

"Not all containers are truly compostable, no matter what the packaging says," Abedon said. "Unless they are certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute, which is the gold standard, anyone can make any claims they want."

One of the problems of trying to recycle the food containers is that there is no reliable market for post-recycled polystyrene, according to the report. While Dart and the packing institute have said that recyclers can get 8 cents to 10 cents a pound for it, buyers are scarce and conditions are clear: “NEPCO, maker of picture frames, and Timbron, maker of architectural molding, are the only known companies that use reclaimed EPS to make their products. Both companies stated in letters circulated by Dart that they can only use EPS that is clean, i.e., free of contaminants and food residue,” the report says.

Last year, Solana Beach banned styrofoam food containers, over the objections of a handful of restaurants and the California Restaurant Association. Encinitas appeared to be on the same path a year ago, but set the matter aside for further study after restaurant owners complained about the additional costs.

About 90 municipal governments in California have banned the food containers, Abedon said. EDCO, which handles recycling for La Mesa and other smaller cities, does accept the food containers, emphasizing that they must be clean. The director of recycling there says they "probably break even" on the recycling, though, he said, "the program isn't cheap."

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gilbert Castellanos, Buddha Trixie, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Shane Hall, Brian Jones Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival

Grand Socials, gigs, and record releases in Del Mar, City Heights, Solana Beach, Little Italy, and Ocean Beach
The city's technical report tallied up the pros and cons of styrofoam food containers
The city's technical report tallied up the pros and cons of styrofoam food containers

Polystyrene food containers will continue to end up in San Diego's landfills, according to a report to the city council this week.

The containers are too likely to contaminate the other recyclables with food waste and there isn't much of a market for the recycled material, the consultant's report said.

Breakdown of recyclable materials collected in the city's blue bins in 2015. The three fiber commodities — newspaper, cardboard, and mixed paper (magazines, junk mail, etc.) — are 77.5% of the material.

The city Environmental Services Department had identified the food containers as one of a number of materials that had the potential to be recycled and sought more information on how it would pencil out. The department already diverts more than 67 percent of the trash it collects away from the landfill and to recycling; under the Zero Waste goals set in 2015, the trash haulers are aiming for 75 percent by 2020.

By comparison, in 1995, about 39 percent of trash was recycled, city recycling manager Ken Prue said.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"San Diego was aggressive about recycling then," he said. And even though population has grown by more than 200,000 people, the total tonnage of trash we generate has remained at about 1.5 million tons a year.

"We're already recycling the items that make up the large part of what can be recycled," Prue said. "Now we're looking at the smaller items. We work by weight — it comes down to where there's opportunity." The city does recycle larger pieces of polystyrene, including the styrofoam forms used as protective packing for products such as printers and TVs, but not styro "peanuts."

Prue said that residents recycled about 46 tons of such packaging last year. That's less than 1 percent of all trash and recycling, by weight. Because of the costs of setting up to recycle food trays, the city would lose about $290,000 in revenue that it normally recovers from recycling, the report says. The trouble with styrofoam containers is that the material doesn't break down on its own, experts say, and it often ends up as litter.

"These containers just can't be safely handled," said Genevieve Abedon of Californians Against Waste. "That's why banning their use is the best solution."

The group estimates that 155,000 tons of the containers end up in California landfills each year.

"Because they're contaminated with food, they can't really be processed — and they're likely to contaminate other valuable recyclables," she said. "We encourage people to bring their own to-go containers."

Contamination by food is a big problem — especially when it comes to paper, Prue said.

"Paper streams — that's newsprint and magazines and cardboard and regular paper — having any type of contaminant reduces the value of the material and the processors can even refuse it because they can't reuse it," Prue said. "Our contracts are based on the highest quality recyclables with the lowest possible contamination and we're looking for the highest revenue."

Why not just encourage restaurants and fast-food joints to switch to other disposable or compostable containers? Relying on packaging that says a material is compostable is a mistake, according to Abedon.

"Not all containers are truly compostable, no matter what the packaging says," Abedon said. "Unless they are certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute, which is the gold standard, anyone can make any claims they want."

One of the problems of trying to recycle the food containers is that there is no reliable market for post-recycled polystyrene, according to the report. While Dart and the packing institute have said that recyclers can get 8 cents to 10 cents a pound for it, buyers are scarce and conditions are clear: “NEPCO, maker of picture frames, and Timbron, maker of architectural molding, are the only known companies that use reclaimed EPS to make their products. Both companies stated in letters circulated by Dart that they can only use EPS that is clean, i.e., free of contaminants and food residue,” the report says.

Last year, Solana Beach banned styrofoam food containers, over the objections of a handful of restaurants and the California Restaurant Association. Encinitas appeared to be on the same path a year ago, but set the matter aside for further study after restaurant owners complained about the additional costs.

About 90 municipal governments in California have banned the food containers, Abedon said. EDCO, which handles recycling for La Mesa and other smaller cities, does accept the food containers, emphasizing that they must be clean. The director of recycling there says they "probably break even" on the recycling, though, he said, "the program isn't cheap."

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Pacific Beach – car thief's paradise

Take photos of your automobile and license plate
Next Article

The Digital Currency Wave Hits the Shores of San Diego

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.