December 5, 2022
San Rafael City Council
1400 Fifth Avenue
San Rafael, CA 94901
RE: Marin Sanitary Service Rates for 2023 (Item 3.d)
Honorable Mayor and Council Members,
Sustainable San Rafael supports the proposed rate increase for Marin Sanitary Service, which though unfortunate is also unsurprising, given recent inflationary pressures. We note the positive movement in the market value of recycled materials and are pleased to see that reflected in a slightly lower rate increase.
We are also pleased to see that costs remained reasonable for local implementation of SB1383 requiring that residents use their 'green carts' to reclaim organic material for compost and other productive uses. This minimizes the release of methane from landfills, a powerful greenhouse gas.
We support the efforts of the City and MSS to educate the public on the separation of materials going into green carts, recycling carts, and landfill carts in order to avoid crosscontamination, optimize benefits, reduce climate impacts-- and help control costs going forward.
We look forward to increasing the amount of organic material that is returned to the land from our kitchens and wildfire prevention activities in the form of compost, enhancing local food production while sequestering carbon in healthy soils.
Actions like the ones San Rafael has undertaken this year-- mandatory organics recovery, building electrification, and electric vehicle readiness--show how local government can drive the systemic solutions needed to successfully confront climate change.
Thank you for recognizing that 'waste' is actually 'resource.' Sincerely,
William Carney
SSR President
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
William Carney, President
Linda Jackson, Vice President
Stuart Siegel, Secretary
Arlin Benavides
Greg Brockbank
Kay Karchevski
Kiki La Porta
Annika Osborn
Bob Spofford
415.302.0110