Rachel Sutton

12/16/15

Implementing Residential Food Waste Collection Services in

Monterey County
Introduction
Most people think of their personal waste as out of sight out of mind, not questioning where their
waste goes once it's picked up on the curb of their street or after it's tossed in a waste bin. Never
less, our waste causes negative implications to our environment. The State of California has been
the leader in sustainability and environmental advocacy in the United States for many years.
With their ambitious recycling and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction goals, they are
setting standards across the states. In order to advance California in its efforts, new policies must
be implemented to bring our
successes even further. In October
2014, Governor Jerry Brown signed
California Assembly Bill 1826,
mandating all businesses producing
2 cubic yards or more of garbage

per week must add organic recycling

collection services by 20201. Staying in

The above image is the personal compost pail the city of

Portland gives each of their residents for their in home food
scrap collection2.

line with California's environmental

goals, this new governmental mandate should reduce GHG emissions from landfills and improve
waste diversion in all major cities of California. Before this policy was enacted, there were

already cities participating in organic recycling programs such as San Francisco and Portland.
The above image is of Portlands compost pail they give to each resident to fill in their home and
to then be taken out to their on curb food waste cart which is emptied weekly1. Given Monterey
County's programs for businesses, Monterey County could likely add residential organic waste
pick-up services as well. The major stakeholders involved are the organizations on the waste
management side, the government officials and residents of Monterey County. The stakeholders
on the waste management side have a commitment in GHG emission reduction goals as well as
customer satisfaction. The Monterey County government are concerned with abiding to state and
federal polices as well as the livelihood of residents. The residents of Monterey County are
interested in how new policies affect their everyday lives. With all stakeholders considered, what
are some ways Monterey County can improve its' current organic waste collection services?
Background

Waste from homes and businesses that are sent to the landfill are the 3rd largest
contributor to the emissions of methane gas, the most potent Greenhouse gas, also known as
GHG. Greenhouse Gases include: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O)
and fluorinated gases, trap heat in the atmosphere which leads to the warming of our planet, also
known as global warming2 The methane gas is coming from the decaying of our organic waste
sent to the landfill, organic waste being anything that comes from plants or animals that is

"Portland's Curbside Composting Program Begins Today." Neighborhood Notes. October 31, 2011. Accessed
December 14, 2015.
2

"Overview of GreenHouse Gases." The United States Environmental Protective Agency. December 11, 2015.
Accessed November 16, 2015.

biodegradable. With 18% of our country's methane emissions coming from our organic waste,
many advocate for better management practices3.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys Landfill Methane Outreach Program
(LMOP), which is a voluntary assistance program, has been recognized for their successes in
GHG reduction projects. This program assists in implementing collection practices for methane
gas from landfills all over the country in order to use the landfill gas (LFG) producing electricity,
fueling garbage trucks, and providing heating for greenhouses3. Another initiative in the
reduction of methane emissions is the development of organic waste collection and organic
recycling in urban areas. The process of organic recycling includes disposal of food scraps or
yard waste in your personal organic waste bin which then gets sent to a composting site. The
organic waste is turned into soil and the methane gas is collected during the process. This rich
soil that is produced can then be distributed to local agriculture, landscapers or available to the
public to purchase5.

"Landfill Methane Outreach Program." The United States Environmental Protective Agency. November 16, 2015.
Accessed November 15, 2015.
5

"What Is Organic Waste?" Organic Disposal LLC: Friends of the Earth. Accessed November 19, 2015.

Monterey County's waste resource recovery is managed by Monterey Regional Waste

Management District (MRWMD), which is located in Marina. MRWMD is home to many
community programs such as, The Last Chance Mercantile reuse
Figure 1 below outlines the results from the
implementation of the SMARTFERM and to the left
illustrates the sequence of the process to convert organic
waste to energy and fertilizer10.

Food

Food waste pile Input

Output

44dry
Dryfermenters
Fermenters

Output

store, Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility,

Compost & Renewable Energy

Landfill Gas Renewable Energy Power plant, and the first

U.S. based anerobic digestion (AD) SMARTFERM plant that was introduced in January
201364. AD is the process of converting organics (yard waste, food waste, paper biodegradable
food service products) into energy by loading them into an air-tight chamber where
4

"SMARTFERM Partnership MRWMD." Zero Waste Energy LLC. 2012. Accessed November
17, 2015.

microorganisms are added to induce decomposition. It takes 21 days for the materials to
biodegrade while the excess methane from the process is harnessed. The methane gas is then
filtered and used to power on-site facilities and local homes. In addition to the clean energy
production, AD produces high quality compost that can be sold to local farmers5. MRWMD's
SMARTFERM is an AD system designed to process and treat the organic waste to recover
energy and reduce the amount entering the counties' landfill. SMARTFERM has the
capabilities of processing 4,000 to 20,000 tons of organic waste per year and supply power and
heat for MRWMD and about 140 local homes7.

In an interview with Jeff Lindethal, Director of Community Programs at MRWMD, I

asked him to highlight the successes of the SMARTFERM and how it has improved waste
diversion at MRWMD. Lindethal approximates that 190,000 tons of waste enters the MRWMD's
landfill per year and about 20% (38,000 tons) of that is food waste, mostly sourced from our
county businesses8. SMARTFERM creates an opportunity for Monterey County to divert food
waste from the landfill and lessen their GHG emissions. Figure 1 above illustrates the process of
the SMARTFERM and the estimated results. Lindenthal also spoke of the partnerships
MRWMD has with local farmers in Salinas Valley for the premium compost. The local produce
farmers of the Salinas Valley are well invested into MRWMD because of the premium compost
they purchase from them that is made from yard waste8. The local vineyards purchase the food
waste compost produced from the SMARTFERM , which is a lower quality compared to the
5

"SMARTFERM Partnership MRWMD." Zero Waste Energy LLC. 2012. Accessed November 17, 2015.

"About MRWMD." Monterey Regional Waste Management District. 2014. Accessed November 14, 2015.

Lindenthal, Jeff. "Secondary Stakeholder 1." Telephone interview by author. November 23, 2015.

yard waste compost. Lindethal expressed great value in these community partnerships and the
importance of giving them the product that they are expecting8. The installation of this advanced
waste reduction technology has brought profit to both MRWMD and the local communities as
well as assisting in climate action goals for California.

Recycling organic matter combats global climate change directly by diverting more
organic waste from the landfill. With Americans generating about 250 million tons of municipal
solid waste (MSW) annually, the diversion of organic materials is substantial3. In 2006, almost
half of our countries waste was diverted to other uses. More than 32 percent was recovered for
recycling or composting3. Californias Legislature and Governor Brown set an ambitious goal of
75 percent recycling, composting or source reduction of solid waste by 2020. This goal orders to
take a statewide approach to reducing our reliance on landfills and execute more waste diversion
efforts 1. California's strategy is to engage all stakeholders in waste management in order to
achieve optimal use of our waste and increase diversion from our landfills.

In Monterey County, our waste hauler,

education and outreach company, GreenWaste
Recovery Inc., has been highly involved in the
counties organic recycling efforts. In an
interview with GreenWaste Recovery Inc.s
(GreenWaste) Customer Service and Outreach
Manager, Sara Treat, outlined the type of
services GreenWaste provided for the
businesses in Monterey County. She explained,

Local chef emptying his food waste bin into food

waste cart to be put on the curb for pick-up.

as the service provider, GreenWaste works closely with the Cities they serve and Cal Recycle to
ensure all AB 1826 customers are in compliance with the new regulation9. AB 1826 was signed
by Governor Jerry Brown on October 2014, mandating all businesses producing 2 cubic yards or
more of garbage per week to add organic recycling collection services by 20201. The goal of this
new policy is to ensure GHG reductions in the State of California through the increase of waste
diversion from our landfills. GreenWaste being the Monterey Peninsula waste hauler, plays a
major role in executing AB 1826 and assisting businesses in the transition. Some of the services
GreenWaste offers include: signing customers up for food waste services who fall under the
new policy, conducting employee trainings, and finally providing continued account
maintenance to insure to program has continued success96. Currently, about 3% of Monterey
County businesses are in compliance with AB 18269. Above is an image of a chef emptying their
food waste bin into the larger food waste cart to be put on the curb for pick-up10. In order to
reduce GHG emissions in California through waste management, more needs to be done by our
jurisdictions.

Two general approaches may be taken when addressing the GHG reduction goals through
waste management in Monterey County. The first general approach is focusing on AB 1826 and
increasing businesses participants in organic waste collection services and improving the current
participants. The second general approach is to target other organic waste generators such as the
residential areas and implementing organic waste collection services. This approach would
require additional services from waste haulers as well as added funds to support the increased
6

Treat, Sara. "Primary Stakeholder 1." E-mail interview by author. October 1, 2015.

10

"MRWMD Food Scrap Composting." Monterey Regional Waste Management District. 2014. Accessed December
17, 2015.

services. In this policy analysis paper, I will be focusing on second general approach and
discussing the implications, drawbacks and benefits of executing residential organic waste
collection in Monterey County.

With the implementation of residential organic waste collection services, three mutually
exclusive policy options arise. The first option is to mandating all Monterey County residents to
participate in organic waste collection services with Governmental Funding available for waste
haulers. The second option is giving residents the option to participate in organic waste
collection services and for those who don't participate are charged with a fee on top of their
current services. The final option is to conduct a residential organic waste collection pilot with a
selected neighborhood in Monterey County. All three of these policy options will will have
different impacts on each stakeholder in the perspective of ecological sustainability, economic
sustainability and social equality. These implications of each policy option will later be
addressed in this policy analysis.
The execution of these three policy options regarding residential organic waste collection
services in Monterey County relies on the county Governmental Officials, Waste Management
organizations and the participating residents. However, it is the Monterey County Government
that chooses to mandate residential organic waste collection as well what falls under AB 1826 in
their jurisdiction.

Stakeholder Perspectives
Primary Stakeholder 1:
GreenWaste Recovery Inc. value is meeting the expectations both the state and its
customers have for them when it comes to aligning with our states GHG reduction goals and
customer satisfaction. Not only does GreenWaste's services reduce GHG emissions by reducing
organic waste in our counties' landfills, but they consider the economic benefit our local
businesses will gain by participating in their organic waste collection services. GreenWastes'
empirical assumption is that businesses that subscribe to food waste collection services through
them will help ensure compliance with AB1826 and can even help reduce collection costs. In
fact, in most of Monterey county, food waste service is 75% of the garbage equivalent1. This
means that food waste is actually cheaper for the customer than disposing of organics in the
garbage. By getting costumers to reduce the amount of food waste that enters the landfill,
GreenWaste is assisting in both the reduction of GHG emissions from landfills and the reduction
of service costs. With GreenWaste helping businesses reduce hauling costs, youd question if
residents would have the same benefit if they too participated in food waste collection services.
Based on how Portland, Oregon runs their residential food waste pick-up services, their
costumers ended up saving a substantial amount of money by reducing their landfill waste9. The
savings came from residents not needing landfill pick-ups as frequently since some was now
being put in their food waste bin. Like GreenWastes services, landfill is more expensive to haul
compared to food waste or recycling, so residents would benefit from the services. If
GreenWaste were to start serving residents with food waste pick-ups, they too can reduce their
hauler rates by needing less garbage pick-ups per month.

This past year, GreenWaste became the service provider for 7 Cities within the Monterey
Peninsula. With GreenWaste having management of services throughout the county, they have
the opportunity to implement Residential Organic waste services as well, however, they do not
see themselves expanding their current services to the residential areas yet1. Treat's reasoning for
this is the current organic recycling services that GreenWaste has implemented have not gone on
long enough for them to see themselves expanding their current services to residents, since
organic waste recycling is fairly new to the counties' businesses. Treat then points out the fact
that if they were expand their services to the residents of Monterey county, their roadblocks
would be funding for additional trucks, containers, having City Code Enforcement to help
regulate the policy and the customers willingness to particpate1. GreenWaste Recovery Inc.s
consensus is that a mandate on implementing organic recycling services to all residents of
Monterey County is not feasible with the current amount of funding and services.

Primary Stakeholder 2:
The local government of Monterey County value meeting Californias GHG emission
reduction goals by being in compliance with all state or federal mandates. The local government
also values the satisfaction and livelihood of all residents on Monterey County, meaning their
well-being is considered in all decisions. With AB 1826 mandated in 2014, the county has been
putting initiatives in motion to meet the states newly made goals, with Monterey County
governmental officials being in support of them. Although the county government is committed
to sustainability and reducing our local impacts, they wouldnt go as far as supporting residential
food waste collection services. The fact is that AB 1826 only complies to business, not
residential, so Monterey County is not mandated to support those services. Since its not a

mandate, its not likely to have the support and funding to implement in Monterey County. The
local government has other concerns that need to be addressed in the community, as well as
insuring the success of current AB 1826 efforts. Monterey Countys government makes the
empirical assumption that adding residential food waste services would make residents
unhappy and feel overwhelmed by the new mandate, meaning the county would not want to
support something that jeopardizes the well-being of their county residents. At this given time,
the local government does not support residential food waste services for it not being a mandate
and the concern of unsatisfied residents.

Primary Stakeholder 3:
The residents of Monterey County have different values in regards to implementing
residential food waste services depending on their lifestyle, some being; its convenience or
economic and environmental benefit. Residents are concerned with how convenient it would be
for them to have in home food waste diversion. One concern resident have is how much time and
effort it would take to learn what should be put in the food waste bin in order to avoid fees for
contaminating the other food waste. Another concern is how much odor itd produce, attract
pests or induce allergy attracts from the mold. Residents also care about how much this new
service would cost them or save them. It is fact that the additional services would save them
money rather than cost them more if they actually reduce their households landfill output.
Residents of Monterey County make the empirical assumption that participating in food waste
separation will take away from their time with family, hobbies or work. Learning whats
compostable and having the whole household learn that could take some time, but once its
learned, it should be as easy as any other way of disposal. The residents of Monterey County are

mostly concerned with how a food waste collection program will impact their everyday lives,
which is a valid concern.

Secondary Stakeholder 1:
Monterey Regional Waste Management District (MRWMD) has a substantial
amount of involvement with the implementation of residential food waste collection services,
however, they do not have a say in if it happens. They would be involved with the operational
side since they would be accepting the food waste from the residents. MRWMD values the
stewardship their company has for the environment, as well as the partnerships they hold within
the Monterey County community. MRWMD has done a lot of community outreach with in their
community in order to raise environmental awareness and help residents make ecologically
conscious decisions through waste disposal practices. They are also known for their strong
partnerships with local farmers and vineyards that they sell their compost to. Like Jeff
Lindenthal mentioned in our interview, these partnerships are important and they highly value
their customers satisfaction. MRWMD supports implementing residential food waste collection
services because they know how important it is to reduce the amount of food waste that enters
the landfill. Lindenthal provided me with the fact that 20% (38,000 tons) of the waste that enters
the landfill per year is food waste, meaning the implementation of food waste collection services
could create a substantial offset of GHG emissions. Although MRWMD sees a lot of potential in
these services, they question whether Monterey County is ready for it. Like GreenWaste,
MRWMD shares the same empirical assumption that the addition of residential food waste
services will distract from current AB 1826 efforts and jeopardize its success. MRWMD has a

commitment to the environments vitality, but also needs to maintain current partnerships and
county initiatives.

Evaluation of Policy Options

Policy Option

Mandating all Residents ~

with Governmental funding
to support the services

Optional Residential ~optout fee

Ecological Sustainability

Guaranteed increase in diversion

rates (+)

Lower trash rates for

participants (+)

Knowledge gained (+)

Partnership with local farmers

(+)

Reduction of local GHG landfill

emissions/added hauler trucks
(CO2) (+/-)

Require grants and funding to

add service
trucks/carts/training (-)

Potential increase in diversion

rates (+/-)

Added services for only small

amount of participants (-)

Participants gain environmental

knowledge (+)
Wealthy opt out and less
reduction (-)
Residential Community
Composting Pilot

Economic Sustainability

Generate interest and educate

those who participate (+)
Implementation in the future is
more likely if successful (+)
Not as much GHG reduction
from landfill/but no increase
from trucks (+/-)

Funding needed for additional

services (-)

Social Equity

Some have little time to

become educated in
process or to separate ()
Short-term and longterm jobs (+)

Unfair to be charged (-)

Short-term and longterm jobs (+)

Lower trash rates for

participate (+)

Could fail,= money lost, not a

substantial amount (-/+)

Accessible to all to a
degree (+/-)

No production of money (-)

Community building
and environmental
knowledge (+)

May have to fund community

gardens (-)
Time for trainings/ manager of
pilot (-)
No increase in truck services
(+)

Support of Community
Garden
encouraged/eating
locally (+)
Added job or pay raise
(+)

When considering the implementation of residential organic waste collection services in

Monterey County, three mutually exclusive policy options arise. These three policy options will
be evaluated based on the criteria of ecological sustainability, economic sustainability and social
equity. Ecological sustainability is evaluated by the degree of impact on our natural resources
and surrounding ecosystems from each policy option. Specifically for these policy options, the
evaluation will be based on the GHG emissions, pollution and long-term ecological impacts.
Economic sustainability considers the efficiency of the policy option in regards to no wastage
and the benefits outweigh the cost. This part of the criteria will evaluate the longevity of the
option and consider the financial support required. The last component is social equity, which
refers to how the policy would impact the communities as well as support equality for Monterey
County residents. All three criteria will be respected during the evaluation of these three policy
options to insure success in selecting the most suiting option for Monterey County.

Option 1: Mandating all Residents

The mandate of all Monterey County residents to have to organic waste collection
services with the addition of funds provided for necessary services have both positive and
negative implications.
Ecological Sustainability
Considering ecological sustainability, this policy option guarantees an increase in our
counties diversion rate, which supports our states zero waste goals. Through the funded
education and outreach programs, residents will learn the importance of waste diversion
practices and use their knowledge outside of their homes as well. This policy creates a more
aggressive effort in getting a portion of the California population to commit to living a more zero

waste lifestyle. A drawback for the environment is the additional waste hauler trucks that would
be contributing to GHG emissions by the CO2 that is emitted. The CO2 emissions could be
combated by having natural gas powered waste hauler trucks. With this policy, the overall waste
reduction efforts made by residents will reduce our local GHG emissions and support Governor
Brown and his commitment to the climate.
Economic Sustainability
In terms of economic sustainability, the mandate of organic waste collection services
would require more funding for the additional services. This policy would require an add-on
pick-up for GreenWaste Recovery Inc. during their service route. GreenWastes usual pick-up
requires one truck to do the garbage and recycling and a separate truck for yard waste, but this
policy requires one more truck to haul the food waste. The additional truck will require more
employees and more time paid. This policy option would also require funds for additional
residential carts for food waste collection. On top of the additional carts, outreach and education
for the residents will be needed in order to insure proper food waste collection, which requires
other paid GreenWaste positions or increased pay to conduct trainings and workshops. For
residents, the mandate could lower their current waste services considering garbage waste is
more expensive than food waste to haul with GreenWaste. Another economic benefit is the
added support of keeping the current partnerships with local farmers. With the constant flow of
viable compost being produced from the SMARTFERM, this maintains a stable economy and
satisfied customers.

Social Equity
This policy option is not socially equitable because it does not give residents the ability to
opt out of the organic waste collection program. The mandate affects residents negatively by
causing them an inconvenience and requiring them to take time away from their jobs, schooling,
and family and so on. Some residents may complain that having to separate their waste will add
to their already existing daily tasks and make it difficult for them abide to the policy. For single
parents, full-time students, large families and the employed, they could lack the time to educate
themselves and their family on proper separation regulations thus increasing contamination in the
food waste carts. With all this considered, the need for education and increased services to
provide for costumers will bring more jobs to the community. With the added on waste pick-up
trucks, there will need to be more drivers which leads to more local job openings.
Option 2: Optional
The policy option of having residential food waste collection services be optional for
Monterey County residents is similar to the first policy option's costs and benefits, but not as
extreme since it's not mandated.
Ecological Sustainability
This policy benefits ecological sustainability because potentially there would be an
increase in waste diversion from the landfills, thus reducing our local GHG emissions. This
option would still require waste hauler pick-ups, which results in CO2 emissions. There is no
guarantee that a substantial amount of food waste will be collected with services being optional.
The additional trucks on the road could potentially cause more harm than good with CO2
emissions with low-no benefit from the food waste collected. With the option, participants will

gain environmental knowledge they did not have prior to participating in the food waste
collection services. In contrast, since the service is optional, residents will most likely not signup being it's not convenient and isn't the societal norm. Even if a fee was in place for those who
don't want to participate in the services, the better off will most likely opt out of the services.
Making food waste collection services optional with an opt-out fee may lead to little to no waste
diversion goals met since the amount of diversion could be minimal.
Economic Sustainability
Focusing on economic sustainability, this policy option could be costly. As stated before,
the current waste trucks pick up recycling and trash at the same time with a separate yard waste
truck, meaning food waste collection would require a separate vehicle on the road. This would be
additional costs for the waste hauler and for only a select amount of participants. If a large
amount of residents opt out of the services, adding hauler trucks could end up creating an
economic decline. Without a large amount of participants to pick-up from, the cost will outweigh
the benefits of this additional service. Like the mandate, this policy option would require funds
for food waste carts and residential outreach staff. The economic benefits of this policy is the
potential of lower rates for waste services since garbage collection is more expensive and
securing the current partnerships with the local farmers and our countys SMARTFERM.
Social Equity
Similar to the mandate option, social equity is not favored if services were optional with
an opt-out fee. The wealthy are able to opt out of these services easier if they pay the exclusion
fee, but this option doesnt consider those who cant afford paying a fee. Those who cant afford
the exclusion fee may also not capable of implementing food collection in their household.

Individuals or families who work full-time or odd hours to be able to support themselves, may
have difficulties finding time to separate their food waste. Ideally, people who fall under these
time-constraints would want to opt out as well, but the process in determining whether they
qualify would be tedious and time-consuming for the waste haulers. In support of social equity,
this option will too supply jobs for the local community. The increase in waste hauler trucks and
outreach and education specialists will be in demand with this policy option.
Option 3: Pilot
Conducting a residential community composting pilot has its benefits being itd be
smaller scale and more manageable. Running a pilot would require willing neighborhoods to
participate in food waste collection without waste hauler services. Households that would be
participating are provided with food waste pails from GreenWaste or MRWMD for their in home
collection use. Each resident would then have to take their food waste to the nearest community
garden that has composting. Like the other policy options, a pilot has its costs and benefits
regarding ecological sustainability, economic sustainability and social equity.
Ecological Sustainability
Running a residential community compost pilot has many ecological benefits. One being
the need for added waste hauler trucks is omitted, meaning less CO2 emissions. Another major
outcome from a pilot is the participants are learning hands-on and willingly. Since residents are
choosing to participate, they are more inclined to encourage others and teach their family
members. By having commitment and interest from a select group, the program is more likely to
expand by word of mouth and from the encouragement given by their neighbors who had found
success in the pilot. Creating a positive outlook on food waste collection produces long-term

benefits; parents learn about zero waste and pass those ideals down to their children, their
children then grow up to be better stewards of our planet. A cost for conducting a pilot is there
would be little reduction of GHG emissions from our local landfill since it would be small-scale.
However, if the outcome of a pilot is that residents view food waste collection as convenient and
engaging for families, GreenWaste would have an easier implementation process for a countywide program in the future.
Economic Sustainability
This compost pilot would require funding depending on its success and growth of the
pilot over time. The optional or mandated services would require added waste hauler trucks and
food waste carts, while a pilot only requires small food waste pails for each household and
access to the nearest a community garden. Pails are typically $10-$20 making them easily
affordable. At this low of a cost, residents may be willing to pay the one-time fee. Some funding
may be available for those who are not able to afford a pail, but want to participate in the pilot.
The community gardens would also benefit because they would be receiving compost for their
plant beds at no cost. However, if the pilot becomes successful, there may be a demand for more
community gardens that can take in residents food waste. Currently in Monterey County, most
community gardens exist in Pacific Grove, one in Marina, and one on CSU Monterey Bays
Campus. If participation in the pilot gains interest in Seaside, Marina, Del Rey Oaks etc., there
would be a need for more community garden access. This expansion of community gardens
would require funding for the construction and for people to be paid to manage the gardens,
unless volunteers are available. Another negative is that the pilot wouldnt produce an income
like MRWMD produces from selling their compost to local farmers. Running a pilot would also
requires employees of GreenWaste to train participants, offer workshops and manage the pilot,

meaning a new position may need to be created or an increase in salary for a current employee.
Adding a new position is beneficial for someone to become employed, but GreenWaste would
have to have funding for it. The last concern is that the pilot could be unsuccessful and funding
could be wasted. The amount of money lost is dependent on the size of the pilot.
Social Equity
The pilot is the most equitable socially out of all three policy options in some aspects, but
lacking as well. First off, the pilot offers the freedom and encourages self-motivation for
residents to cut down on their own landfill contributions. Anyone can participate in the pilot as
long as they sign-up and go through the training/workshops offered. If the pails are funded for,
all residents could receive a pail zero-charge, but if residents are required to purchase them, it
could exclude low income residents. Some residents may not have an efficient mode of
transportation to empty their pail at the garden nor the time available. Another issue with
accessibility, is some of the community garden plots and produce are member only. This
excludes residents who want to benefit from the food grown from their compost they
contributed. Considering the lack of accessibility, there could be an exchange between the
community gardens produce and the residents that contribute to the compost. The trade-off
would support the community garden and increase local and organic food being consumed,
which is highly beneficial. The most socially influential outcome from the pilot would be the
strengthening of our community and environmental knowledge. Participants would benefit
greatly by gaining a sense of place in their community as well as learn how their own impacts
influence the planet as a whole.

Recommendation
Limitations
My recommendation is to implement a residential community compost pilot in Monterey
County. There are two limitations to this analysis that must be addressed. First off, my analysis
has been limited because I have based residents perspective on other cities that have already
implemented food waste collection with their city waste hauler and my own personal
experiences. This limits me in knowing how Monterey County residents would react to
mandatory food waste collection services, optional services with an exclusion fee or the
implementation of a community compost pilot. I make the recommendation of a compost pilot
assuming that residents would prefer a small-scale program that they can participate in to the
extent that they prefer. I can also assume that residents are currently not wanting to pay large
fees to implement a larger program since there is a population of low income and college
students in Monterey County. I find it reasonable for me to assume a compost pilot would be
more favored in the community considering the demographics.
The second major limitation is that I was unable to obtain the local governments
preference for the policy options. Since residential food waste collection is a fairly new concept,
there hasnt been much discussion that I can find from Monterey Countys governmental
officials and their stance on the proposed program. Given my limitation, my assumption is that
Monterey County is not interested in adding these services for two reason. One being that
implementing a county-wide collection service is not a priority because of the current efforts
with AB 1826. Governor Browns 2014 initiative is not only a priority, but a mandate to be in
compliance with by 2020. With only about 3% business in current participation, the counties

focus needs to be on assisting GreenWaste Recovery Inc. with getting more business
participation. My second assumption is that funding is not available for a residential food
collection services, and its very likely that there wont be without another mandate in place.
With the attention needed on the AB 1826 mandate and considering the funding needed for
large-scale residential food waste collection, I can assume a community compost pilot would be
favored.
The third limitation I had during my analysis is not knowing the exact economic benefit
of each policy. I was able to assume what options would be the most costly, but I did not have
the exact cost for each. Despite my limitation, I assumed a county-wide residential food waste
collection service would be significantly more costly than a small-scale community compost
pilot. With the needed additional waste hauler trucks, supplies required, paid truck drivers and
education and outreach personnel, I can assume a pilot would be more feasible for Monterey
County economically.
Concessions
With this policy option, three concessions should be addressed. The first is that both of
the non-recommended policy options provide short-term and long-term jobs that are needed to
implement and provide infrastructure. In order to make county-wide food waste collection
services manageable, there will be plenty of job opportunities for waste hauler truck drivers and
GreenWaste Recovery Inc. and MRWMD may need to include new hires to oversee the new
program.
The second concession, is that the community compost pilot does not generate revenue
and support the partnership between MRWMD and farmers in the Salinas Valley like the other

policy options. The reliance local farmers have on MRWMDs compost is a strong community
interaction that a pilot will not contribute to.
The last concession I want to address is that a mandate guarantees a substantial decrease
in residential food waste that enters the local landfill, while the pilot provides a much smaller
decrease. If optional residential food waste collection services was recommended, it is not
definite that the food waste sourced from residents would decrease substantially, but there is the
potential depending on the number of participants. California has made GHG reductions sourced
from landfills a high priority, therefore it is important to consider these concessions.
Justification
Despite the above limitations and concessions, I am recommending that Monterey
County implements a residential community compost pilot. I am giving greater weight to the
policy options impact on ecological sustainability. I find that the engagement of families in the
community and the approval of the program will have a long-lasting impact ecologically. Out of
the three policy options, the pilot encourages community engagement in ecological justice the
most. Since these families would not be mandated to participate, they are more willing and more
likely to treat it as a learning experiences for their household. The challenge of sorting waste
could be a great family experience and provide realization on how important it is to live a more
zero waste lifestyle. The experiences the families will have will be beneficial ecologically
because they will take on more stewardship roles in their community and teach others to compost
as well. I also give greater weight to the economic impact a compost pilot would have. Since this
option is the most cost efficient, its important to strongly consider this criteria. It is more likely

a low budget compost pilot would be approved of in Monterey County since funding for
residential food waste collection services does not exist.
A central empirical fact that I believe justifies my recommendation is that AB 1826 has
high priority in Monterey County since it is a governmental mandate and is the main focus for
our local governmental body at this given time. In interviews I conducted, both GreenWaste
Recovery Inc. and MRWMD stated the expansion of food waste collection services to residents
is not in their near future since AB 1826 needs more attention and support. The addition of
residential food waste collection would greatly benefit our region, however, programs shouldnt
be started unless they have both financial and governmental support. Although AB 1826 only
addresses businesses and commercial, it is important that our county experiments with the
addition of residential services. For reasons previously stated, the compost pilot approach will
better create a foundation for GreenWaste and MRWMD to implement a county-wide residential
food waste collection service in the future. The compost pilot will set the stage for larger growth
for Monterey County once the opportunity arises to focus on residential food waste reduction.
Providing a larger-scale food waste collection service will have various ecological benefits by
the substantial decrease of GHG emissions from landfills which further protects vital habitats all
over the world, as well as support our states sustainability goals.
Consequences & Implications
There are two potential consequences that may result from my recommendation. The first
consequence being residents may harm the community gardens or abuse their access to them. For
the community compost pilot, residents will need access to their nearby garden in order to
dispose of their food waste upon convenience. Some implications of this would be residents not

understanding proper garden etiquette, meaning trampling on seedlings, not turning the hose
completely off, contaminating the compost pile or taking the grown food from plots they arent
allowed to take from. This implication doesnt necessarily come from carelessness, but the lack
of education on gardening and communal harvesting. Residents not respecting other garden users
may displease the owners of the community garden and forbid further access or eliminate the
partnership all together. The second consequence would be an unsuccessful pilot due to AB 1826
commitments. With GreenWaste focusing on AB 1826, potentially the pilot could be
unsuccessful since its not mandated by the state, resulting to residents losing interest during the
pilot and discontinuing their participation. Residents having bad experiences with the pilot could
jeopardize future plans of implementing a county-wide residential food waste collection service.
Accountability
I have the understanding that my recommended policy option could over extend
GreenWaste Recovery Inc. in their current commitments. GreenWaste is highly involved in the
implementation of AB 1826 and does not have the capacity to facilitate another food waste
reduction program. For this reason, I propose an additional position is added to GreenWastes
staff to manage and oversee the pilot. I also propose that the Monterey County government
provides GreenWaste with funds to support the pilot and the new Residential Compost Pilot
Manager. By the government offering financial support, GreenWaste will not have to rearrange
their budget and an allocated amount of the budget will be required to secure the success of the
pilot.

Conclusion
As our population grows exponentially, our waste output increases at the same rate. We
are a consumerism driven society, and with that, we must take more responsibility for the types
of impacts we inflict on our planet. In Monterey County, we have the technology and knowledge
to be able to make our GHG emissions sourced from landfills close to zero. By addressing
emissions sourced from residential food waste, Monterey County could set a standard for the
surrounding counties and the state. Its important that everyone does everything they can to
lessen their impact; whether its a large scale food waste collection program or your own
personal compost pail and worm bin, you too are making a positive change for your
environment.