Mayor Jerry Sanders has proposed a policy that would make it mandatory for city residents to recycle. Office and apartment complex owners would also be required to provide recycling for tenants and residents.
San Diego currently has a recycling policy that lags behind most others in the region. While the city provides trash and recycling services to residents of single-family homes, it doesn’t offer recycling pickup to more than 100,000 units in businesses, apartment complexes, condos and multifamily dwellings.
The city estimates those tenants throw away 100,000 tons of recyclable waste each year.
Sanders’ proposal reverses his position on mandatory recycling. The mayor has previously said he believed voluntary compliance — not a mandate — was best, citing the costs of recycling. The city would lose revenue it earns when waste is dumped at the city-owned Miramar Landfill.
But City Attorney Mike Aguirre and City Councilwoman Donna Frye have both advocated this year for a mandatory proposal. Aguirre proposed a mandatory ordinance in April.
We’ll have more on this later.