S.F. expected to exhaust landfill capacity by 2014
By: John Upton
March 27, 2009
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| San Francisco could run out of landfill space as early as 2014. (Examiner file photo) |
SAN FRANCISCO — As trash from The City piles up near Altamont Pass, officials are searching for new dumping grounds.
San Francisco has sent about 12 million tons of garbage to the privately owned Altamont Landfill since 1988, when it entered into a contract with the owner to deposit up to 15 million tons. According to city documents, San Francisco could run out of landfill space as early as 2014.
Officials recently invited bids from three landfill operators interested in taking the roughly 500,000 tons of nonrecycled and noncomposted waste that city residents and businesses toss out every year, according to San Francisco Environment Department Acting Director David Assman.
Bids are due in two weeks; landfills will be judged on cost and environmental impact, according to Assman. The Board of Supervisors is ultimately responsible for approving the selected operator.
The distance that trash must be hauled from The City to a landfill, and whether it’s moved by truck or train, is one of the environmental
and economic factors that will be considered, according to Assman. The farther trash is transported, the more fuel must be purchased and the more climate-changing emissions released, he said.
San Francisco’s current landfill operators are contenders to win The City’s new contract when its trash quota is filled, according to Assman. The Altamont Landfill in Livermore, which is 62 miles east of The City, is owned by Houston-based Waste Management Inc.
The Ostrom Road Landfill is also being considered. Owned by San Francisco-based Norcal Waste Systems, it’s in the tiny Yuba County city of Wheatland, which is 133 miles northeast of The City.
The nearest potential dumping site is the Keller Canyon Landfill, 42 miles northeast of San Francisco in Pittsburg. It’s owned by Allied Waste, which recently merged with Phoenix-based Republic Services Inc.
It’s unclear whether San Francisco will need to begin a new landfill contract in 2014 or 2015.
The City’s environmental initiatives, which could include proposed fines for tossing out recyclable or compostable waste, are expected to increase the amount of waste composted and recycled from the current level of 70 percent.
The slow economy is also lowering waste levels, according to Assman.
The City has set a zero-waste goal for 2020, but still expects to create at least a “residual” amount of waste at that time, Assman said.
Taking out the trash
$18.60 Price per ton S.F. currently pays to dump at Altamont Landfill
5 million Tons of new waste-dumping capacity S.F. seeks to purchase
520,000 Tons of waste produced by S.F. in 2007
467,000 Tons of waste produced by S.F. in 2008
93 million Tons of waste produced by California in 2008
70 percent Waste that S.F. recycled or composted in 2008
58 percent Waste that California recycled or composted in 2008
Sources: San Francisco Environment Department, California Integrated Waste Management Board
