CITY OF PACIFICA
COUNCIL AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT
9/23/2024
1 SUBJECT:
San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury Report Titled “The State of Compost Compliance in San Mateo County.”
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Move to approve the response to San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury Report Titled “The State of Compost Compliance in San Mateo County.”
STAFF CONTACT:
John Mullins, Interim Public Works Director
(650) 501- 6523
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
Early in California’s history, the California Constitution established grand juries in each county.
The California Penal Code provides for the formation of civil grand juries and their powers and duties. With respect to public agencies, grand juries are authorized to “Investigate and report upon the operations, accounts and records of the officers, departments, functions, and the method or systems of performing the duties of any such city or joint powers agency and make such recommendations as it may deem proper and fit.” California Penal Code § 925(a). Within 90 days after the Grand Jury submits a report regarding the operations of any public agency, the “Governing body of the public agency shall comment to the presiding judge of the Superior Court on the findings and recommendations pertaining to matters under the control of the governing body…” California Penal Code § 933(c).
On July 11, 2024, the San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury issued a report titled “The State of Compost Compliance in San Mateo County” (Attachment A). California regulations adopted pursuant Senate Bill 1383 (2016) mandate separating compostable materials like food waste from garbage to reduce methane emissions.
Starting January 1, 2022, regulations adopted pursuant Senate Bill 1383 (2016) required California businesses and residents to participate in organic waste collection. As part of this Grand Jury investigation from December 2023 to April 2024, officials were interviewed and data was collected from the County, Cities, the RethinkWaste Joint Powers Authority (JPA) (including Recology of the Coast), and haulers to assess current compliance.
A statewide goal is to reduce 75% of organic waste disposal from 2014 levels by 2025. Disposal means sending all waste, organic, recyclable, or trash, to the landfill. Diversion means sending organic waste or recyclables to conversion centers, where they become compost, mulch, or consumer recycled content, as opposed to sending them to landfills. This Grand Jury's goal was to identify where consumers and producers are failing to fully contribute to organic waste Pacifica City Council 2
September 23, 2024
diversion consistent with their abilities.
Based on the Grand Jury report, during the Grand Jury investigation there were several reasons found why multi-family dwellings and businesses have low participation and diversion rates.
Green cart enrollment costs, and insufficient space for the three-cart system are the largest factors. Contamination brought about by improperly sorting organics into bins also played a role.
It was also found that some multi-family dwelling trash chutes do not offer an opportunity to sort items and appropriate compost bins were not conveniently located or available.
Further, local governments cannot reliably assess their progress on Senate Bill (SB) 1383 compliance because JPAs, haulers, and cities have different data reporting formats.
To address these problems, the Grand Jury suggests that:
1. Cities, the County, and RethinkWaste should host monthly in-person green cart enrollment summits for non-compliant businesses and landlords and develop and implement other compliance strategies.
2. Jurisdictions should develop and implement new ways to make green bins usable in multi-family dwellings and businesses in narrow or small waste enclosures.
3. To increase transparency and accountability, cities and the County should regularly publish waste reports with diversion and participation rates on their government websites.
The Civil Grand Jury report includes eight recommendations and strategies to improve education, outreach, program enrollment, tracking and management of the compost diversion program. Recology of the Coast was involved in the development of the recommendations and has implemented and or is in the process of implementing all the recommendations.
Response to Civil Grand Jury Findings and Recommendations:
The City response to the Civil Grand Jury report is due by October 9, 2024. The Public Works Department, in collaboration with Recology of the Coast, has prepared a draft response letter, included as Attachment B. The City and Recology agree with all the of applicable findings and have either begun or are in the process of implementing all the applicable recommendations from the Grand Jury report dated July 11, 2024.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION:
Decline to accept the draft response to the San Mateo Civil Grand Jury and provide additional direction to staff.
RELATION TO CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND WORK PLAN:
Approval of the response is consistent with the following Council-adopted Goal:
• Goal 4: Pursue climate change adaption and mitigation FISCAL IMPACT:
The fiscal impact of accepting this report and implementing the recommendations are minimal and can be addressed within budgeted resources.
Pacifica City Council 3
September 23, 2024
ORIGINATED BY:
Public Works
ATTACHMENT LIST:
Attachment A - Grand Jury Report: The State of Compost Compliance in SMC 2024 (PDF) Attachment B - Draft Grand Jury Response Letter- The State of Compost Compliance in SMC_9-16-15 (DOCX)