Dive Brief:
- Recycling centers are closing up shop throughout San Francisco; since 2012, 14 centers have closed, leaving seven facilities standing. New numbers paint a bleak picture of what lies ahead.
- Numbers released by the Container Recycling Institute, a non-profit that analyzes recycling data, found that one center typically serves 2,000 people. When one center closed, the nearest center received an influx that reached a staggering 40,000 recyclers.
- According to Jose Ortiz, Deputy Director of CalRecycle, a state organization that facilitates waste management and recycling programs, 90% of recycling in California is collected via recycling centers, not through curbside collections.
Dive Insight:
On June 24, the Board of Supervisors will vote on a moratorium of evictions at recycling facilities, giving various organizations time to find a compromise. The single solution proposed so far is the mobile recycling center.
The effects of more closures are many. Environmental ramifications include increased waste littering the community, while recyclers themselves could potentially lose millions in redemption payments, not to mention the expanding black market as more closures ensue.
Closed centers also create a burden for small business owners, who are dealing with increased anxiety, afraid their shop will be forced to accept an unsustainable volume of recyclables or face a $100 per-day fee ($36,000 annually), as required by state law. Neighborhoods that still have a recycling center are set to become swarmed by recyclers looking to cash in on the few centers left standing in the community.
