San Francisco Achieves 77% Landfill Diversion Rate, the Highest of Any U.S. City

City’s Aggressive Recycling Program Also Creating Jobs & Stimulating Growth of New “Green Economy”

Mayor Gavin Newsom today announced that
San Francisco achieved 77 percent landfill diversion rates, surpassing
the goal of 75 percent landfill diversion by 2010 and setting national
recycling rate records, the highest of any city in the United States.
New statistics show that the City is up from 72 percent landfill
diversion from the year before.

The figures compiled by the City’s Environment Department for 2008
show that San Francisco diverted just over 1.6 million tons of
material—double the weight of the Golden Gate Bridge—through recycling,
composting and re-use. Of this only 560,000 tons went to landfill, the
lowest disposal on record.

“San Francisco is showing once again that doing good for our
environment also means doing right by our economy and local job
creation,” said Mayor Newsom. “For a growing number of people, recycling
provides the dignity of a paycheck in tough economic times. The
recycling industry trains and employs men and women in local
environmental work that can’t be outsourced and sent overseas, creating
ten times as many jobs as sending material to landfills.” Read more.