Taxpayer Cost Of Litter In San Francisco= $35.8 Million

I love San Francisco, one of the greenest cities in the USA. They are forerunners in banning plastic bags, recycling and more. But the litter is everywhere even though there are trash cans on the street (overflowing)

SAN FRANCISCO — Last fiscal year, The City spent more than $15 million picking up litter, but the results are drawing mixed reviews.

Amid shrinking resources, the Department of Public Works is becoming creative with stretching its dollars and generating revenue. The City adopted a 20-cent fee on the sale of cigarettes to help pay for the cost of cleaning up discarded butts. That fee is under review and may be lowered by Jan. 1 due to legal concerns…

Last fiscal year — from July 1, 2009, to June 30 — Public Works spent $38.8 million on cleanup, ranging from such things as graffiti removal, illegal-dumping pickup and street cleaning. That includes the $15 million spent on picking up litter, paying for manual block sweepers, crew supervisors, salaries and materials, among other costs. This fiscal year’s total cleanup budget is $35.8 million….

Taking out the trash-Various kinds of litter found on San Francisco streets:

Small    Count

• Chewing gum    41.1%
• Small glass    22.9%
• Small paper    6.6%
• Cigarette butts    10.0%
• Other materials    3.1%

Large    Count

• No-brand-name towels,
• napkins    16.7%
• Printed material    9.6%
• Miscellaneous paper    8.0%
• Miscellaneous plastic    4.7%
• Receipts    4.2%

Source: Department of the Environment’s 2008 litter study

Cleanup costs What the Department of Public Works spent cleaning up litter in the 2009-10 fiscal year:

• $15,116,683 Bill for manual block sweepers, green machines, crew supervisors, other personnel, contracts, materials, support services

Public Works’ efforts:

• Since 2008, it has conducted 209 eco-blitzes, or targeted and increased cleaning services on busy streets
• It has performed 29 night walks, which target clean-city education and enforcement on streets with a large number of businesses open at night

Source: Department of Public Works

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Trashy-streets-remain-a-problem-103839724.html#ixzz10q2c7JszSimilar Posts:

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