The Morning Report
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The City Council’s natural resources committee will meet next Wednesday and continue discussing the other part of San Diego’s recycling policy: Construction and demolition debris.
When it previously discussed the topic, the committee pushed back against a proposal from Mayor Jerry Sanders to wait until late 2008 to require recycling of construction and demolition debris.
As it stands now, it costs $19 more for an individual or company to recycle a ton of construction debris than it does to dump it at the city-owned Miramar Landfill. A 2005 report said the city could lose more than $6 million annually if the debris is recycled — diverting it from the landfill.
A trash hauler who dumps a ton of debris — concrete, drywall, lumber — at the Miramar Landfill is charged $43. The city keeps all of that money.
Taking that same ton to the recycling facility costs much more. The private facility charges $46 per ton to dump. And the city tacks on two more fees for waste generated in San Diego, which push the cost to $65.
The natural resources committee sought a more rapid analysis of how much it would cost to requiring the debris to be recycled early next year. The committee asked for the Mayor’s Office to recommend funding sources that could replace city fees that effectively add a $19 tax to every ton of debris recycled.
The mayor’s report is due out tomorrow. We’ll pass it along when we get it.