(a) All collectors must appropriately designate the collection containers they provide to customers for source separation of recyclables, compostables, and trash. The containers must:
(1) Bear appropriate signage that allows users to clearly and easily identify which containers to use for recyclables, compostables, or trash;
(2) Be color-coded: blue for recyclables, green for compostables, and black for trash; and,
(3) Bear the name of the collector to whom the container belongs.
(b) (1) If a collector finds materials that are not the correct type as designated for that container, such as recyclables or compostables in a trash container, or trash in a compostables or recyclables container, the collector then must leave a tag on the container identifying the incorrect materials.
(2) If the collector continues to find incorrect materials in a collection container after the collector has left a previous tag for that customer and that type of container, the collector must leave another tag on the container identifying the incorrect materials and send a written notice to the person who subscribes for that collection service.
(3) If the collector continues to find incorrect materials in a collection container after the collector has already left two or more tags for that customer and that type of container, the collector may refuse to empty the container, subject to California Code of Regulations Title 14, Section 17331, or as determined by the Director of Public Health or his or her designee. If the container is not emptied, the collector must leave a tag and send a written notice to the person who subscribes for the collection service, identifying the incorrect materials and describing what action must be taken for the materials to be collected; provided, however, that a collector may not refuse on this basis to empty containers from multifamily or commercial properties with multiple tenants and joint account collection service.
(4) The collector shall, upon request, provide to the Director a list of the names and addresses of those persons who have received tags or notices or whose containers have not been emptied due to non-compliance with this Chapter 19, or copies of the tags or notices issued by the collector. The collector shall also provide to the Director, upon request, a list of the names, addresses, and service levels of the collector’s customers and any additional information required by the Director.
(c) Periodic Large Refuse Generator Audits. The Director or collector shall complete an Audit of every Large Refuse Generator for compliance with this Chapter 19
not less than once every three years. City departments that are Large Refuse Generators shall be subject to Audits in the months from July through January only.
(d) Audit Findings. The Director shall find that a Large Refuse Generator is out of compliance with this Chapter 19
pursuant to an Audit of the contents of its collector-serviced refuse collection containers, if materials are found that do not belong in a designated collection container and are at a contamination level that either significantly impacts the ability to process and market the materials, or results in the significant loss of compostables or recyclables found in a collection container. The report for each failed audit shall include photographs of the contamination and a description of how the contamination exceeds the Director’s compliance threshold. The report may identify commercial tenant(s) whom Audit findings suggest are responsible for or have contributed to the contamination resulting in a Large Refuse Generator’s noncompliance with this Chapter. Guidelines for the contamination threshold for Large Refuse Generators’ compliance with this Chapter 19
shall be set and maintained by the Director based on market conditions and processing capabilities, and as needed to meet the City’s progress toward zero waste benchmarks. The Director shall review and revise these guidelines as needed and not more than once per year in furtherance of the objectives of this Chapter.
(e) Notice of Noncompliance and Order to Comply. Upon a finding of noncompliance under Sec. 1906(d), the Director shall promptly issue to the Large Refuse Generator a notice of noncompliance and order to comply (“notice and order”).
(1) The notice and order shall state the provision(s) of this Chapter 19 with which the Large Refuse Generator has failed to comply, the specific Audit findings underlying this determination, and contact information for communications required by this Chapter. The notice and order shall also include a copy of the relevant provisions of this Chapter and related regulations.
(2) The notice and order shall state the requirements and 60-day deadline in Section 1906(f), and prescribe an adequate capacity of Zero Waste Facilitator(s) based on the Audit findings and in accordance with regulations. Where the Large Refuse Generator already has Zero Waste Facilitator(s) at the time it is found out of compliance, and the Director has determined that these Zero Waste Facilitator(s) are engaged at a capacity commensurate with the Large Refuse Generator’s volume of refuse regularly produced, the Director may in his or her lawful discretion find that additional Zero Waste Facilitator(s) are not necessary to correct the cause of the Audit failure, and order other remedial measures that he or she deems appropriate to correct the violation.
(3) The notice and order may also mandate additional remedial steps and a timeline for response and/or compliance as the Director deems appropriate, in his or her lawful discretion and in furtherance of the objectives of this Chapter 19. The Director may make use of any relevant information or evidence, including information provided by the Collector, to determine the required remedial steps. In a notice and order issued to a 100% Affordable Housing Project, a Non-Profit Food Provider, a non-profit wholesale food provider, or a business whose primary source of revenue is the sale of fresh cut flowers, the Director shall state that such an entity may seek a waiver of an order to engage Zero Waste Facilitator(s) based on its demonstrated lack of ability to afford associated costs without incurring significant hardship. The Director’s order shall prescribe a timeline according to which a 100% Affordable Housing Project must submit in writing to the Director its waiver request and supporting documentation. The Director shall respond within 15 days of receiving such a request.
(f) Zero Waste Facilitator Requirement. A Large Refuse Generator who fails an Audit under Section 1906(c) must, except as otherwise noted in this Chapter 19
, within 60 days of receipt of a Director’s notice and order, and for a duration of a minimum of 24 consecutive months, designate staff or otherwise engage person(s) whose exclusive function is to serve as Zero Waste Facilitator(s). 100% Affordable Housing Projects, Non-Profit Food Providers, businesses whose primary source of revenue is the sale of fresh cut flowers, and non-profit wholesale food providers, shall receive a Director’s notice and order affording 6 months to remedy the noticed violations in accordance with any prescribed remedial measures, after which time the Large Refuse Generator shall be subject to a follow-up Audit. Upon failure of this follow-up Audit, a Large Refuse Generator shall within 60 days of receipt of a Director’s notice and order, and for a duration of a minimum of 24 consecutive months, designate staff or otherwise engage person(s) whose exclusive function is to serve as Zero Waste Facilitator(s).
Zero Waste Facilitators(s)1
must be engaged at sufficient capacity to address the Audit findings, in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Director and as specified in the Director’s notice and order. Upon receipt of a notice and order, a Large Refuse Generator must notify the Director in writing within 60 days of its plan for compliance, and include supporting documentation where applicable, as described in regulations. The Director may afford an additional 60 days for Large Refuse Generators other than City departments to engage Zero Waste Facilitator(s), based on demonstrated limited availability of Zero Waste Facilitator(s). The Director may afford an extension longer than 60 days to City departments based on the departments’ need to seek budget authorization, provided that any department seeking such an extension provides the Director with a written explanation of the need for additional budgetary authority and the anticipated steps and timeline for seeking that authority. Upon receiving the required budget authorization, the City department shall update the Director regarding its timeline for promptly engaging a Zero Waste Facilitator. The Director may afford a 100% Affordable Housing Project, a Non-Profit Food Provider, a non-profit wholesale food provider, or a business whose primary source of revenue is the sale of fresh cut flowers, up to an additional 365 days to engage Zero Waste Facilitator(s) after such an entity’s first Audit failure following enactment of the ordinance in Board File No. 180646. The Large Refuse Generator shall be subject to a follow-up Audit upon expiry of the 24-month period if no earlier compliance Audit is conducted. The Director or collector shall conduct inspections, monitor compliance with the notice and order, and pursue enforcement in the intervening period, as permitted under this Chapter 19
.
(g) Compliance Audits. Notwithstanding the 24-month requirement described in Section 1906(f), after 12 consecutive months of compliance with all aspects of a notice and order issued under Section 1906(e), a Large Refuse Generator may request a follow-up Audit to demonstrate compliance. Such compliance Audits shall be conducted at the Large Refuse Generator’s own expense. A Large Refuse Generator that has failed its most recent Audit must provide sufficient evidence of remediation efforts alongside a request for a compliance Audit. Provided these requirements are met, the Director or collector shall complete a requested compliance Audit within a reasonable time frame. No Large Refuse Generator is entitled to more than three Audits per collection container in a single 365-day period. Where the Large Refuse Generator passes a compliance Audit and has implemented mandated remedial measures, the Director shall issue an order finding compliance and resolving the underlying notice and order. Where the Large Refuse Generator fails a compliance Audit, the Director may order additional remedial measures and/or administrative penalties in accordance with Section 1906(h).
(h) Enforcement of Notices of Noncompliance and Orders to Comply, and Audit Failure. The Director may impose an administrative penalty of up to $1000 for each violation of any aspect of a Director’s order issued to a Large Refuse Generator under this Chapter 19
. Each day of continued noncompliance may constitute a separate violation. The Director may hold such imposed administrative penalties in abeyance, pending completion of ordered remedial steps or based on other conditions, in accordance with his or her lawful discretion and in furtherance of the objectives of this Chapter 19. A Large Refuse Generator that is a City-owned or operated facility is not subject to administrative penalties under this Section 1906(h).
(i) Within 90 days of the end of each calendar year, each collector must submit to the Department, on a form specified by the Director, an annual report of all tons collected by material type and to whom the material was sent.
(j) Upon one year from the operative date of Ordinance No. 300-18 and annually thereafter, the Director shall report to the Board of Supervisors on notices and orders issued to Large Refuse Generators under this Chapter 19 within the prior 12-month period. No more than 39 months after Ordinance No. 300-18 becomes operative, the Director shall submit a report to the Board of Supervisors regarding its implementation to date, and may include recommended amendments to the ordinance as he or she may deem appropriate.
(k) Owners of facilities, operations, and activities that recover Organic Waste, including, but not limited to, compost facilities, in-vessel digestion facilities, and publicly-owned treatment works, and other facilities referenced in subsection (b) of Title 14, Division 7, Chapter 12, Article 2 of the California Code of Regulations, as may be amended from time to time, shall, within 60 days of receiving a request from the Director, provide the Director information regarding available and potential new or expanded capacity at their facilities, operations, and activities, including information about throughput and permitted capacity that the Director determines is needed for planning purposes.
(l) No person may deliver recyclables or compostables, including those mixed with trash, to a landfill or transfer station for the purpose of having those materials landfilled, except as follows:
(1) A collector may drop off recyclables or compostables at the San Francisco transfer station for landfill if the transfer station has agreed to provide to the Director, upon request, audits of collection vehicles for a specified period going forward in time. The transfer station’s audit shall report the quantity of recyclables or compostables, stated as estimated tons per load or as a percentage of the loads, deposited at the transfer station by collection vehicles specifically identified in the request over a reasonable period of time occurring after the request.
(2) A processing facility that sorts and reconstitutes recyclables for the purpose of using the altered form in the manufacture of a new product or turns compostables into usable and marketable compost (e.g., soil-conditioning) material may send to a landfill a minor portion of those materials that constitutes unmarketable processing residuals, if the processing facility provides to the Director, upon request, audits of specific collection vehicles for a specific period going forward in time, of the quantities of recycla- bles or compostables sent to the landfill from the processing facility.
(m) No person may deliver trash from the city, including trash mixed with recyclables or compostables, to a processing facility, unless the processing facility has agreed to provide to the Director, upon request, audits of collection vehicles for a specified period going forward in time. The processing facility’s audit shall report the quantity of trash, stated as estimated tons per load or as a percentage of the loads, deposited at the processing facility by collection vehicles specifically identified in the request over a reasonable period of time occurring after the request.
(n) The operative date for Ordinance No. 300-18 shall be July 1, 2019, except for the following types of Large Refuse Generators, for whom said ordinance shall become operative on July 1, 2021: (1) 100% Affordable Housing Projects, (2) those that are or encompass Non-Profit Food Providers, (3) businesses whose primary source of revenue is the sale of fresh cut flowers, and (4) non-profit wholesale food providers.
CODIFICATION NOTE