The Port of San Diego has been selected as ‘Recycler of the Year’ by the City of San Diego as part of the city’s 2019 Business Waste Reduction and Recycling awards programme.
San Diego’s award honours companies and organisations with the most comprehensive, innovative and/or improved recycling programmes. While the port has a robust recycling programme in place, additional elements added over the past year have significantly reduced waste around San Diego Bay.
Garry Bonelli, chairman of the board of port commissioners, said: “The Port of San Diego is honored to receive the Recycler of the Year Award from the City of San Diego.
“As the trustee of San Diego Bay, the Port works every day to clean and protect the environment. Our additional recycling initiatives have demonstrated how well the Port’s efforts are paying off.”
New initiatives
The port’s integrated waste management programme provides a conceptual framework to document compliance with all applicable waste-related regulations and achieve the goals and strategies defined in various port environmental programmes.
New recycling efforts initiated in fiscal year 2018 include collecting used coffee grounds which are then reused as fertilizer for roses in Spanish Landing Park; installing cigarette butt recycling bins in port parks and other public areas; launching the #That’sMyBay media campaign to educate a wide audience on environmental protection including waste reduction and recycling; adding recycling cans in public parks and spaces; and having bins dedicated to diverting metal, construction waste, green waste and various other waste streams.
These efforts, in combination with those in practice, have resulted in a large amount of waste being diverted during the past year.
The port’s waste management team also conducts annual waste audits and hosts educational workshops and campaigns for internal and external stakeholders.
Waste reduction contributes to the port’s greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals as established in its Climate Action Plan (CAP), adopted in 2013. The port’s 2020 goal is to reduce GHG emissions by 10%.
The port has also recently installed an electric vehicle (EV) charger for public use in the public parking lot of its administration building.
