The Zero Waste San Francisco City. Inspiring city?
从零浪费的旧金山我们中国能学到什么？
By 2020, San Francisco is expected to achieve its ambitious goal of zero waste to landfill. If we look back on the city’s evolution in waste management these past several years, we see that there have been leading efforts made by the government and its people in attempting to tackle its waste issues. While San Francisco has been a prominent example of recycling and trash sorting, the city is reconsidering the feasibility of its goals for the imminent deadline next year.
旧金山希望在2020年前实现零垃圾填埋的目标。回顾过去数年其在垃圾管理领域的历史，我们清晰地看到政府和社区的努力。虽然旧金山成绩显著，但是是政府仍然在考虑2020年deadline的实际性。
The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 required each city and county in the state to divert half of its waste by 2000. San Francisco took it a further step in 2003 to promise to send no waste to landfill or high-temperature destruction facilities by 2020. In support of this move, the city also introduced its “Fantastic Three” program which divides trash bins into trash, recycling and composting, indicated by the colors black, blue and green respectively. In 2013, the national average for waste diversion was about 35 percent. San Francisco, however, achieved a much higher rate of 80 percent. Although the city is on its way to zero waste, the last mile proves to be more difficult than what is initially expected.
《1989加州综合废物管理法案》要求加州所有的市县必须在2000年前分流其一半的垃圾。旧金山在2003年主动提高要求，承诺在2020前实现向填埋场或高温处理设施零输送。旧金山同时还出台了”Fantastic Three”项目，把垃圾桶分成垃圾，可回收，和堆肥三类，用黑色，蓝色，和绿色表示。全美在2013年的垃圾分流率是35%，而旧金山已经达到80%。即使已经很高了，最后这一程还是很艰难。
The city designs its programs to incentivize citizens to direct waste more into compost and/or recycling bins rather than trash/landfill bins. Fees for trash bin collections are around 10 times the price for compost and recycling bins. Also, if recyclable and compostable waste are not properly sorted into the correct bins, residents and businesses can also face additional fines. The city also realized that information and awareness is key to the success of the programs. Advice and feedback on how to better sort waste and performance are delivered to residents, forming part of the city’s comprehensive education program. San Francisco Department of Environment offers community programs, grants and school curriculums to teach people and students about waste management. While these programs are not specifically targeting waste reduction, they build a foundation for citizens in understanding waste management, which in the future will help residents and businesses realize how to gradually change their waste behaviors.
旧金山的垃圾管理鼓励市民多使用可回收或堆肥垃圾桶，而不是进入填埋场的垃圾桶。每产生一桶垃圾，市民需要付比产生可回收或堆肥多大约9倍的费用。同时，如果可回收或可堆肥垃圾被放进填埋垃圾桶，个人和企业会受到罚款。他们也认识到信息和宣传的重要，把来自各界的建议和反馈及时地扩散到市民中去，形成他们独特的全面教育系统。旧金山环境部门提供包括社区项目，资金帮助，学校课程在内的项目，来帮助大家学习垃圾管理。虽然这些项目没有具体针对垃圾减排，但是它们加深了市民对垃圾管理的理解，同时会对个人和企业丢弃垃圾行为的改变有深远的影响。
SF Environment has divided its “zero waste” policies into five different areas. Zero Waste policies outline the city’s specific commitments and goals. Recycling, Composting and Trash policies are more targeted towards the process of sorting and managing the trash types. Producer Responsibility addresses plastics such as polystyrene foam, plastic bag use and other single-use plastics. Construction and Demolition oversees building requirements and general debris regulations. The last type, City Government, focuses on waste prevention methods.
旧金山环境部门将其“零浪费”政策分成5部分。《零浪费政策》概述其目标。《回收，堆肥，和垃圾政策》针对垃圾分类和管理。《生产商责任政策》针对塑料，比如聚苯乙烯泡沫，塑料袋的使用，和其他一次性塑料的使用。《建筑和拆毁政策》针对建筑和建筑垃圾。最后一部分，《市政府政策》，针对减少垃圾的方法。
Which such a massive plan, how does San Francisco implement all its policies?
旧金山是如何实施这么庞大的计划的呢？
Everything is Better with a Partner
榜样城市-旧金山
Recology, an employee-owned company, works with the government as the sole collector of waste. The rates are set by the city, which also provides oversight, research and outreach. Recology, on the other hand, offers infrastructure, collection and processing. Together, the two sides meet regularly in order to review performance and any impending issues. With only one company to work with, communication and administrative work is much more streamlined for the city, and provides the opportunity to establish long-term goals.
Recology是一家员工即股东的公司。他们和政府合作，成为独家收集垃圾的企业。市政府定收垃圾的费用，同时还实施监管，调研和宣传。Recology提供设施，收集和处理。双方定期开会，以审查表现，解决过程中出现的问题。因为只和一家公司合作，市政府的工作也变得更简单了。同时还提供了设立长期目标的机会。
有好有坏
The Good and the Bad
Strong policy leadership, clear action plans, and legitimacy of the programs have led to San Francisco’s successes so far. With extensive support from the government, which also ensures legality, and regulations that have been clearly outlined, companies and people alike have a solid idea on what they are expected to do. And they actually want to be part of it. By including a large number of its stakeholders, the city can expect to receive continued support in implementing their strategies. The city also utilizes high-tech sorting and composting facilities. In addition, other strategies like certain plastic use bans, varying bin sizes and extra fees have been used to encourage behavioral changes in trash sorting and waste management.
强大的政策支持，清晰的行动方案和项目的正当性让旧金山获得成功。当政府强力支持，确保合法性，同时又有清晰的法规出台的时候，企业和个人就会知道该怎么做。同时他们也希望能参加进来。当更多的相关利益者加入进来的时候，政府的策略就会得到持续的支持。他们还用高科技帮忙分类垃圾，实施堆肥。他们还实施过禁止使用一些塑料，改变垃圾桶大小，额外费用等方式来鼓励大家改变行为。
For the remaining waste that San Francisco still has to tackle, part of it is not even possible to recycle, compost or reuse. Some, like certain electronics or furniture, contain toxic chemicals that can be dangerous to workers when inhaled, so therefore several recycling centers don’t accept these kinds of plastic. Otherwise, more effort put in by the public could boost the waste diversion percentage. More awareness and education on how to properly sort trash can allow much of the waste to be composted or recycled more effectively. There is also a need for more manufacturing of sustainable materials and products so that the process for recycling is easier.
旧金山剩下的那些垃圾，其中一部分无法回收，堆肥或重新使用。一些电子产品和家具含有有毒化学成分。这些化学成分会在拆解中被吸入人体，所以回收工厂也不收。对于剩下的部分，公众的努力，进一步的宣传教育也会提高回收和堆肥的比例。而且我们还需要生产更多的可持续环保产品，这样回收就方便多了。
Other cities in California are also implementing zero waste plans of their own. Los Angeles, Berkeley, Oakland, and San Diego have all committed to diverting waste but none as ambitious as San Francisco’s. In the US, we also see Colorado and Texas as well as other major cities in several states outline their own zero waste goals. In Europe, around 400 cities have joined the Zero Waste Masterplan under Zero Waste Europe, with city governments working together with various zero-waste related non-profits. While many are on the right track, no city has actually fully reached the goal of zero waste.
加州的其他城市也在落地自己的零浪费计划。洛杉矶，伯克利，奥克兰，圣迭戈都宣誓要分流垃圾，但是目标都没有像旧金山这么高。在美国范围内，科罗拉多州，德州，和其他一些州的大城市也公布了其零浪费目标。在欧洲，大约400个城市加入了“零浪费欧洲”下面的“零浪费大计划,” 这些城市政府和相关的公益组织合作。虽然大家都在尝试，但还没有城市真正达到零浪费。
For now, San Francisco has adjusted its goals to look instead at 2030. By that year, the amount of waste generated per person should be reduced by 15 percent. The city acknowledges the level of ambition needed for it to achieve zero waste and seems to be embracing the possibility of not achieving it at all. However, the city will continue to spearhead efforts in reaching that elusive goal, encouraging its citizens to adapt their lifestyles as every step towards zero waste already means a lot to the future of the environment.
目前旧金山已经把目标的deadline调整到2030年。那时，每人平均产生的垃圾要减少15%。市政府认识到这个目标的艰难，好像也做好的无法完成目标的准备。即使如此，他们也会继续义无反顾地朝目标努力，鼓励市民们将生活方式变得更环保。因为对于我们地球的未来，每一小步都值得鼓掌。
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