Zero Waste in County Facilities
Target: Divert 100% of achievable waste from landfills
- 64% of waste from County facilities is diverted from landfill, up from 17% in baseline year 2009.
- Recycling program established in April 2021 at Joseph D. Grant Park, the County’s largest County park.
- Compost Program established for the kitchen at James Ranch in February 2021.
- Recycling program reinstated at St. Louise hospital in May 2021.
In 2009 the Board of Supervisors adopted the Environmental Stewardship Goals that would challenge the County to divert 100% of County waste from landfills. In 2010, the County contracted with Republic Services to haul and process waste in most of the County buildings. Since then, the County’s diversion rate (amount of discards not going to the landfill) went up from 17% in 2010 to over 70% from 2013 – 2019. Diversion saw a drop to 64% in 2020 with the addition of the St. Louise and O’Connor hospitals where the waste program has yet to be implemented. The current contract with Republic Services expires June 2022 and a new Request for Proposals is planned to be released mid-2021.
Visit the Sustainability Dashboard for recent data on County Facilities and Operations Zero Waste efforts as well as Unincorporated County efforts.
For questions about the Zero Waste Program, contact (408) 993-4743.