San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has proposed fines up to $1,000 for failure to sort recycling materials from trash.   Under the plan repeat offender residents and businesses could even eventually have their garbage services discontinued.   Should he proposal take effect it would be the first mandatory recycling and composting law in the United States.   Newsom said about the proposal:

“If we’re truly going to be the city we promote ourselves to be, a world-class, 21st century city that advances its values and principles, we’re going to have to try new things.   People are used to doing things a certain way. And when you change that, they say it can’t be done. Well, we’ve proved them wrong.”

I couldn’t agree more with this proposal.   $1,000.00 may seem like a lot of money to pay in a fine, but it also signifies the importance the community, rightly, places on environmentalism and ensures that the businesses and residents comply with those values. Provided that the public is properly educated as to how adhere to such ordnances, I would hope that laws like this take hold in every community.

You can takepart by using the recycling search tool on Earth 911.

LINKS:

SFGate: SF Mayor proposes fines for unsorted trash

GreenTech Media: SF Mayor Signs Tough Green-Building Bill

TG Daily: SF Mayor goes medieval on trash - recycle or face $1,000 fine