{"id":175905,"date":"2025-08-26T02:50:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T02:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/175905\/"},"modified":"2025-08-26T02:50:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T02:50:10","slug":"sd-completes-organic-waste-pilot-employing-formerly-homeless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/175905\/","title":{"rendered":"SD completes organic waste pilot employing formerly homeless"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Green<\/a>Green organic waste recycling being delivered to San Diego homes. (Photo courtesy of the city of San Diego)<\/p>\n

The city of San Diego recently completed a pilot program in which people transitioning out of homelessness were hired to pick contaminants out of organic waste collected in the city\u2019s green bins, it was announced Monday. <\/p>\n

The two-week program, which concluded Wednesday, was intended to improve the quality of compost generated by Miramar Greenery<\/a>. The \u201cFollow The Compost Pile\u201d project employed homeless people, working through the East County Transitional Living Center<\/a>, who were tasked with removing any non-organic material brought to Miramar, including plastic bags, scrap metal, glass bottles and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we are able to implement this process moving forward, we can lower the number of contaminants at the end, improve operational efficiencies, and in turn produce better compost to put out to the community,\u201d said Jennifer Winfrey, assistant deputy director in the Environmental Services Department, which led the pilot program.<\/p>\n

Since the city added the green bins in 2023, more than 200,000 San Diegans have recycled food scraps and yard waste. The total organic waste climbed from 142,297 tons in 2023 to 194,310 tons in 2024.<\/p>\n

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We\u2019re piloting a new process at the Miramar Greenery to manually remove contamination from organic waste. You can do your part by putting organic waste in its place: the green bin! Remember: plastic bags labeled compostable shouldn’t go in the green bin: https:\/\/t.co\/hddP4Ha1iI<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/61NMwbIOAZ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 City of San Diego (@CityofSanDiego) August 25, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Before the pilot program began, the process at Miramar Greenery involved removing contaminants through a grinding and screening process. The people working with East County Transitional Living Center \u2014 an organization that provides opportunities for people experiencing homelessness to re-enter the workforce \u2014 manually picked through the waste.<\/p>\n

Contaminants observed during the pilot program were documented, weighed and manually removed. It will take several weeks to analyze the data, a city statement read.<\/p>\n

San Diego\u2019s ESD is also planning a campaign this fall to inform city residents about what can and cannot go into the green bins. One of the biggest problems is plastic bags \u2014 even if they are labeled compostable.<\/p>\n

\u201cA single plastic or compostable bag that moves through our composting and grinding process can ultimately result in a thousand tiny pieces of plastic,\u201d Winfrey said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeft to decompose in landfills, organic waste releases methane, a gas that traps the sun\u2019s heat and warms the atmosphere,\u201d a city statement read. \u201cIf not managed appropriately, decomposing organics are a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. They emit 20% of the state\u2019s methane, a climate super pollutant 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Items that can go in the green bin include yard waste (such as grass clippings and branch trimmings) and food scraps (such as eggshells, vegetable and fruit peelings, coffee grounds and chicken and meat bones).<\/p>\n

Recycling options for hard-to-recycle items like appliances, bulky items and electronics are available at WasteFreeSD.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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