United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
                                                        Solid Waste and
                                                        Emergency Response
                                                        (5306W)
                                                                          EPA-530-F-98-023h
                                                                          September 1998
                                                                          www.epa.gov/osw
San  Francisco  Produce
Recycling  Program
California
  »
    Begun in 1996, the San Francisco Produce Recycling Program is a
    collaborative effort among many public and private participants—
    the city and county, produce businesses, a farmer, a hauler, a food bank, and a
    composter. FromJune 1996toAugust 1997, this program provided 450 tons of edible food
    to charities, 300 tons of inedible food as animal feed, and 750 tons of food to a composting
    facility. In that period, food discards came from more than 40 wholesale and retail
    businesses; the program has since greatly expanded.
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putting vegetative discards in the
square container provided by the city is
little extra work. Depending on the
supermarket's needs, Sunset Scavengers
will pick up one,two,three,or more
days a week.

Costs/Benefits
A$97,000 grant from the City and
   County of San Francisco provided
the San Francisco Food Bank with a
refrigerated truck for produce collection
and a partial year's salary for a full-time
driver.  Future grants will help expand
collection and make capital
improvements. There is no cost to
wholesalers for food bank and animal
feed services.
    San Francisco residents and
businesses pay variable trash rates
     based on frequency of pick-up
       and weight or volume. These
       trash fees provide funding for
        Sunset Scavengers'organics
       pick-up, and cover the cost of
      running two trucks (as of 1997),
which can accommodate food discards
from over 200 businesses.
    Benefits of this program are
manifold.  Food service agencies save
money through reduced purchases;
they boost the nutritional value of the
food they serve. Farmers save money
on feed costs. The Richmond
Composting Facility produces higher
quality compost through this program.
Produce businesses save money
through lower trash costs as well as
through their tax-deductible donations
    to the Food Bank.
    The experience of two Produce
    Terminal vendors—Cooks
    Company and DeMatti Brothers—
     illustrates this program's cost-
     effectiveness to participating
     vendors. Cooks Company cut its
      trash bill by approximately 45%
      within four months of joining
the program. In fall 1997, the company
received trash pick-up once a week.
Previously,trash had been picked up at
least twice a week. DeMatti Brothers
reduced the size of its trash container
by half and reduced the number of
trash pick-ups from four a month to two
a month, reducing its trash bill by 10-
15%.
    For the first year, Sunset
Scavengers, which also collects trash
from the Produce Terminal, did not
charge businesses for pick-up of
compostables.  In fall 1997, it began
charging at a rate that is 25% less than
what businesses pay for trash pick-up.
     Businesses that may have been
     reluctant to join will have a clear financial
     incentive. Sunset Scavengers predicts
     that vendors will reduce their total
     disposal costs by an average of 10%.


     Tips for Replication
     •   Place the highest use value on
     edible food redistribution. When
     developing your program, work with
     and support local food donation
     organizations to incorporate edible
     food recovery.
     •   Identify local regional markets for
     inedible food, including farmers and
     composters.
     •   Work with the hauler to develop a
     collection strategy and financial
     incentives for participating businesses.
     •   Put time into working with
     businesses. Provide monitoring and
     follow-up. Remind businesses that they
     reap many benefits from participating,
     including financial and public relations.
                         Program Summary
   Sector
   Start date
   Dedicated city employees*
   Method

   Materials collected
   Part of comprehensive waste
    reduction program?
   Total waste generated
   Food discards generated

   RESULTS:
   Food discards recovered (TPY)
   Food discards recovered (%)
Public/private collaborative: city and
 county government, retailers and
 wholesalers,a food bank,a farmer,a
 hauler,and a composting facility.
1996
<025 plus 0.5 FTE contractor time
Edible food donations; animal feed;
 off-site windrow composting
Produce trimmings, produce
No

NA
NA
1,500 tons  (June 1996-August 1997)
50-75% from participating vendors
  COSTS:
  Costs and savings for participating vendors are currently unavailable.

  * A dedicated employee is one whose primary responsibility is working with the food discard program.
  FTE = full-time equivalent        NA = not available    TPY = tons per year
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