A Letter to the Mayor and the Chief Administrative Officer

Dear Mayor,

Currently, global warming is the world’s largest threat, and many countries such as Australia, Netherlands, Sweden, and Singapore have long been taking action through increasing usage of renewable energy and promoting a circular economy. Despite the fact that the United States is at the top of the world in most aspects, we are very far behind in terms of sustainability. While the average recycling rate for most developed countries is around 45-65%, America’s recycling rate is only 34%.

As San Diego is the eighth-largest city in America, it would make a great leader for this movement towards a greener America. That being said, I would like to propose the following changes in order to start this movement.

First of all, all gas stations and car washes need to have recycling bins. Many people empty out all the trash in the car when they go to these locations. Recently, my mom and I drove around visiting various gas stations, and out of the twenty gas stations I visited in Carmel Valley, Carlsbad, Mira Mesa, and Ranco Bernardo, none had a recycling bin. As a result, many recyclable items such as plastic bottles and aluminum soda cans had simply been thrown in the trash rather than recycled.

Secondly, San Diego needs to implement a weekly collection of residential food waste because when food is sent to the landfills, it rots, and produces methane, a greenhouse gas even more potent than carbon dioxide. I was told by the Miramar greenery staff that very soon, food waste collection trucks will be available in the city of San Diego, which is exciting news. However, I hope the same service is offered in the suburban areas, too. Just as the trash truck drives around every week to collect everyone’s garbage, a truck needs to come around sometime every week to collect organic food waste. To compensate for this collection cost, I recommend changing the weekly collection of recycling items into a bi-weekly or monthly collection as these items are non-perishable. We also recognize that change is very hard to make in schools and as such, this should also be implemented in all public schools.

Thirdly, curbside disposal of usable bulky items such as couches, dressers, bikes, home decorations, etc. should be allowed once a quarter. A disposal schedule by zip code should be organized such that once a week, a few zip codes can throw out their items. For example, on 8/1, zip codes 92101 to 92105 can put their usable items outside and on 8/8, 92106 to 92110 can put their items outside. These items are not for trash collection, but rather for free pickup by anyone in need. This will promote a circular economy instead of sending these items to landfills immediately. One person’s trash can be another person’s treasure.

Fourthly, what I would like to propose is to minimize household and business waste, trash should be collected for a fee based on weight just like in South Korea and many other countries. Alternatively, there can be no direct fee for garbage collection. Funds come from the sale of garbage bags by the city through retail channels that are color-coded which vary between trash collection companies. Collectors will not accept non-standard bags.

Lastly, drop-off locations for batteries should be available at grocery stores such as Von’s and Ralph’s or even libraries. Currently, battery disposal is very inconvenient as it is only available at landfills and two Home Depots. As everyone needs to visit the grocery store about once a week, it would be a more convenient location for battery drop-off.