Sept. 2013–Waste and recycling costs went up in San Francisco on July 1 due to rate hikes by Recology, the city’s hauler. For commercial clients, this includes a 5% increase in the base rate, among other adjustments. Businesses can expect to see significant increases in their bill.
“The rate hike has disheartened many who have been doing all the right things working towards the city’s zero-waste goal,” says Todd Sutton in Great Forest’s San Francisco office.
“San Francisco buildings and businesses have some of the best commercial waste and recycling programs I have seen but now they are scrambling to regain ground lost in order to rein in extra costs that are hurting them.”
To combat the rate hikes, companies will have to ramp up their performance to maximize their diversion discounts and find even more ways to reduce the amount of waste they generate. This means re-evaluating and fine-tuning their current efforts with an extra sharp eye.
“Businesses will have to look for the little things that will help,” says Todd. “They need to go over everything with a fine-tooth comb to find gaps they can fill.
“For example, do they have costlier weekend pickups? Can they do without that? Can they reduce the number of waste carts? Should they re-examine their purchasing to see if they can reduce waste generated? Can they improve their recycling efforts with more training and education? In short, they will have to be even more diligent and persistent.”
Have questions about the rate hike? Ask Todd Sutton in Great Forest’s San Francisco office.