Composting in Fairfax, but not yet for San Anselmo

Residents of Fairfax -- as well as upper Ross, Sleepy Hollow, Oak Manor, and Santa Venetia -- recently received fliers from Marin Sanitary Service (MSS) announcing their pilot residential food scraps composting program with the headline: "We Now Take Food Scraps With Your Yard Waste!"

Residents of San Anselmo, however, shouldn't start throwing their food in with the grass clippings quite yet. San Anselmo is not eligible for the pilot program due to the town's new contract with Marin Sanitary, which cut yard waste services from weekly to bimonthly pickup. Current law dictates that commercial waste haulers must collect perishable food waste at least once a week.

Why would the town of San Anselmo agree to this downgrade in service, knowing that it would prevent residents from participating in the pilot composting program?

Because, the town's refuse and recycling contract cost MSS $500,000 a year or approximately $2.8 million during the duration of the contract from 2004 to 2009. In a rate study conducted by consultant firm Hilton Farnkopf and Hobson it was determined that San Anselmo rates needed to be raised a whopping 27.4 percent to be consistent with surrounding areas. But, San Anselmo's Refuse and Recycling Subcommittee determined that huge rate increase could be reduced with various service changes. Switching to biweekly yard waste removal cut 8 percent off the tab.

The breakdown of the service/rate change (as seen at right) can be found in the Town of San Anselmo's November 18, 2009 Staff Report.

The new dual recycling sort carts that appeared on San Anselmo curbsides earlier this year actually increased service rates by close to 7 percent. Town Manager Debbie Stutsman said that the new recycling carts were a priority because residents have petitioned the town council for dual recycle containers for the past two years.

"San Anselmo will be participating in Marin Sanitary's food waste composting program and it is a high priority for our Council members and constituents," said Stutsman. "We did know that the pilot would not be possible for us, but we plan to be part of the program when it is launched, which MSS hopes to do within a year or so. The idea is that the green waste goes back to weekly and either we have to pay a bit more or we can also have the black can picked up every other week. There are several options and we will be working on this with MSS."

San Anselmo, along with other Marin Sanitary franchise cities, is in a franchiser's group that discusses new programs and implementation.

Considering both Stutsman's comments and the Zero Waste Resolution (read more about what zero waste entails here) that was adopted by Marin County Board of Supervisors on April 17, 2007, it may seem that the composting program will be a slam dunk. In fact, its success is far from guaranteed and the program still must clear various governmental hurdles. Its success however is not a guarantee.

Individual town councils will eventually need to vote in favor of any rate increase associated with the composting service, which could be 4 to 5 percent. It is also possible that a lack of participation by Marin residents could cause the program to fail. Success will be measured in large part by how many individuals in the pilot program put their food scraps and other organics – including meat and bones, pizza boxes, paper plates, napkins, tea bags, coffee grounds, napkins, waxed paper and waxed cardboard and paper towels – in the yard waste bin. 

Patty Garbarino, President of Marin Sanitary Services, noted in a 2010 summer newsletter that "participation is low, but getting better every day for the new pilot food waste composting project." Vice President Steve Rosa added, "Almost 30 percent of refuse still going to the landfill from Marin is food waste. We are hopeful that more participants will start taking advantage of this project that could significantly cut landfill waste."

According to Bryan Walsh, an environmental columnist for Time, global methane emissions from garbage are estimated to be as high as 70 million metric tons a year. By composting organic waste, those emissions are eliminated and the compost can be used as organic fertilizer.

Marin Sanitary currently composts its organic materials in Zamora, near Davis, and resells the compost to local farmers. Garbarino said that MSS is considering a limited giveaway of the compost to MSS customers, but in the end it will be sold as "Marin's Own!" to help offset the cost of the program. Garbarino is hopeful that once the organic materials are diverted to the green yard waste container, MSS be allowed by lawmakers to further mitigate service costs by reducing pickup to twice a month rather than weekly. She also suspects that the state legislature is moving in the direction of banning organic waste from landfills, which will be one more push for the residents and governing bodies of Marin to embrace composting as a way of life.

Garbarino will be presenting developments in Marin Sanitary's waste removal and reduction programs at San Rafael City Hall on Monday, Sept. 20. San Anselmo will host the same presentation at an upcoming town council meeting this fall. The presentation will be an update of what has been developed and what is being developed, with a strong emphasis on residential and commercial food waste streams.

"San Anselmo is committed to having a food waste program as soon as possible, as are the other Marin cities who contract with MSS," said Stutsman.