San Diego Pursues Mandatory Recycling

By Alison St John / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published August 23, 2007 at 10:52 AM PDT

This story was published more than 17 years ago.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders' office has released a draft of a mandatory recycling proposal. The city council asked for an ordinance two years ago to divert waste from Miramar Landfill, which is fill

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders ' office has released a draft of a mandatory recycling proposal. The city council asked for an ordinance two years ago to divert waste from Miramar Landfill , which is filling up fast. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

The initial draft of the long-awaited plan would make recycling mandatory rather than voluntary for all residences and small businesses in the city. Environmental advocate Carolyn Chase says it's an important step.

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Chase: It basically says if the city provides you with a recycling bin, you have to use it. And I hope people take that to heart because if they don't use it, the city will educate them on why it’s important and how to use it.

Those who have opted out of the city's program so far will be required to recycle starting January 2008. Large apartment complexes and large commercial operations must also start next year. Multi-family units with fewer than 50 units and businesses less than 10,000 sq. ft. would have a two year grace period. A public hearing on the plan will be held next week.

Alison St John, KPBS News.

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.