S1: Hey there San Diego. It's Andrew Bracken in for Jade Heinemann. San Diegans began to recycle organic waste this year. Today we get some tips on how to manage our green waste and even some tips for our blue bins as well. Plus , we hear about new research on how different media outlets are covering climate change. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. Earlier this year , San Diego introduced composting. You may have received a small green bin to help in that effort to recycle food waste and other organic waste. But sometimes it can be confusing what goes into the green bin and what can't go into it. So here to help us break it down is Amy Unruh. She's the waste recovery manager at I love a Clean San Diego. They're a local nonprofit environmental group. Amy , welcome to Midday Edition.
S2: Thanks for having me.
S1: Okay , so let's delve into the green bin. What goes into it and what doesn't. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. So your green bin is your organic waste bin. And all residents in San Diego County should now have one in your green bin. You can put anything that is organic waste. So that includes food scraps which can include meat , bones , dairy , uh , food , soiled paper. So your coffee filters , napkins , paper towels , as long as they don't have cleaning products on them. And then wood waste , non-hazardous wood and yard waste.
S1: And what are some of the common misconceptions you see when it comes to organic waste and what people put in the green bin that , you know , shouldn't be ? Yeah.
S2: So one of the most common things that we find as a contaminant in the green bin is these plastics that are labeled biodegradable or compostable. These typically are not actually compostable in our composting facilities we have here in San Diego. So it's really important that those biodegradable plastics stay out of the green bin.
S1: What are some common forms that those plastics come in ? Are you talking about ? Like , I don't know , little plastic bags , like plastic liner bags and things like that. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. So , um , several grocery stores have these plastic liners that you can put your produce in and that , you know , they're kind of that green , thin film material and they might say compostable on them. So those are an example of a biodegradable something , a plastic labeled as biodegradable. These items typically are not petroleum based. They're vegetable based , but really still they can't break down. Um , you may also see some other kinds of products. I once had a , um , a Nespresso machine , and I didn't get Nespresso pods. I got these little , um , alternative pods that said that they were compostable , and I had been putting them in my green bin a while back. I realized that they weren't actually compostable , even though they were labeled compostable. So aside from liners , you might see other products that are labeled compostable , um , that aren't really meant to be there. Um , another examples of is if you go to like a sporting events game , um , sometimes those cups that you might get an adult beverage in would say , you know , corn based or I'm made out of vegetables. That's an example of a plant based plastic that should not go in your green bin.
S1: And I think you said that there's actually a law changing and how the some of these products kind of identify themselves as being biodegradable , when in fact they're not. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. So those changes won't take place for quite a few years. But it is coming down the line is there's going to be a lot more regulation on what you can label as biodegradable or compostable.
S1: And earlier you mentioned kind of an item that you were putting in the bin that shouldn't have been. And I think that's almost like comforting for people to hear that , you know , even an expert like yourself can sometimes miss label stuff. I mean , for example , I didn't realize , you know , about , you know , pet waste needs to stay out of the green bin.
S2: A lot of things , a lot of people think that that is acceptable in the green bin , but it has a lot of toxins that's not good for , um , the compost that we , you know , where the , the stuff that we put in the green bin is eventually going to be used in gardens and agriculture. So it's important that it's free of toxins and it's healthy for us to consume. So pet waste is something that you'll want to keep out of your green bin. Um , some other common items that we see people put into the green bin that aren't as obvious as contaminants are , like soil and dirt and rocks. Um , those things are not considered organic waste and should be kept out of your green bin as well. Um , and then a little pesky item is also those stickers that you might have on your produce. So if you're peeling a zucchini and it has the little plastic sticker , that's something that you'll want to remove before you place that , that peel into your green bin. Oh , that's a.
S1: Good because yeah , I think those are really common , really easy to kind of fall off there. Um , so when it. Comes to saving , you know , food scraps. Obviously , if we're kind of leaving that out or putting it in the bin , it can bring foul smells. You know , the weather's getting warmer , right ? So flies are coming. You know , in my green bin right now , for example , what tips do you have for kind of helping with with that. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. So a lot of folks are concerned about what's called the ick factor with organic waste recycling. Just the the thought that this is going to be really smelly and attract pests and flies and all sorts of things. So , um , there's quite a few things you can do to help with that and to avoid any , any smells. Um , the best thing you can do is if you have a yard and you do your own landscaping , um , if you can kind of layer your green bin with yard waste. So at the bottom of the bin , you can , you can put branches , dead leaves , grass clippings , um , and then , you know , your food waste next and then another layer of your brown waste. So your yard waste food scraps and then yard waste. Um , I know that not everyone has access to yard waste. A lot of people , including myself , live in an apartment complex. Um , so if you do , your best bet would be to freeze your scraps. So I have a little Tupperware in my freezer that I fill throughout the week with my fruit and veggie scraps and just stick everything in there. And then at the very end of the week before collection day , um , I'll take that those frozen scraps and bring them to the organic waste bin , um , so that they're not sitting there all week , especially in the hot weather.
S1: That's a great tip.
S2: My organization , I live a clean San Diego , oftentimes does composting workshops. The Solana Center is another really great resource. Um , but yeah , typically you'll want to , you know , have a designated space if you live in a small , um , you know , if you don't have a ton of space , you can do verma composting. That's a really great option for people who live in apartments and maybe just have a little balcony or a small space under their sink. Um , for composting at home.
S1: I think one challenge when it comes to the green waste and composting , things like that can be , you know , people in apartments may not have as easy access to the green bins.
S2: By this point , everyone in San Diego County should have a green bin. Um , if you don't definitely contact your waste hauler or your property manager , um , to see where that is. The tricky thing is that a lot of , um , apartment complexes had a trash and recycling enclosure that may not fit the needed space for it , may not have the needed space for a green bin. Um , so surgery on your apartment complex , that green bin might be hidden somewhere and residents might just not know about it.
S1: So talking about some of these misconceptions , I want to just kind of zoom out a little bit more broadly into recycling. And , you know , we've been recycling plastic and metals for long , a long time now. Um , but there can still be confusion there , right ? I mean , can you talk about some of the common mistakes you still see people making with , with those kind of items ? Yeah.
S2: So similar to the mislabeling that we're seeing on compostable plastics , biodegradable plastics. We also see that with recyclable materials. So there's a lot of things that aren't actually recyclable in your curbside bin that will have that little triangle on it that might make you think that it is recyclable in your curbside bin. Um , one of the most common things is soft plastics. So things like a Ziploc bag or maybe a grocery bag that you got , um , or maybe some food packaging. Those things , even though you might see the little recycling symbol on them , are not recyclable. Um , one of the best things you can do is a squish test. And a squish test is if you can kind of crumple that piece of plastic into a ball in your hand. Um , it is not recyclable in your curbside bin. It has to go to the landfill. The reason for that is those soft plastics. When they go to the recycling facility , they jam up the machinery. Um , and they cause some really , um , bad inefficiencies at the recycling facility. Typically they have to shut the recycling facility down , and workers actually have to go in there and physically cut all the soft plastics out of the machinery. It kind of acts like a huge wad of gum in the machinery , and it really causes some unsafe working conditions.
S1: And you also say the size of the object to matters , whether it can be recycled or not. Right.
S3: Right. Yeah.
S2: So items that are smaller than a credit card are typically too small to be recycled. The reason for this is when they're at the recycling facility. They will just fly off the conveyor belt because they're too light. So things that are smaller than a credit card. Typically you will want to put them in the trash bin if they're larger than the size of a credit card or kind of the weight of a credit card. Um , they should be recyclable as long as they're , um , kind of a rigid plastic and not that soft plastic we were talking about. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. And so on. This soft plastic , I mean , you know , one common thing that I think we were talking before we got started about coffee. Right ? And you get those kind of coffee cups from Starbucks or whatever. What about those ? I mean , I think they often have the recycling symbol on it. Are those okay to recycle ? Yeah.
S2: Great question. So those paper cups that you might get from Starbucks or from your favorite coffee shop , um , they have a paper outside. So you might think it's recyclable. You might even see that little symbol on there. These materials are considered mixed materials. So it's a paper um , outside. And then it actually is a plastic liner on the inside , which prevents all the coffee from spilling out all over the place. Um , and those two materials , the paper and the plastic cannot actually be recycled or they can't actually be separated. And so those , unfortunately have to go into the trash.
S1: I mean , talk about false advertising because I , you know , I think we all kind of see those logos. So I guess in that instance , I mean , what do you recommend just kind of bringing your coffee mug with you , like keeping it around. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. That's the best thing you can do is bring a reusable , um , bring a reusable mug to your coffee shop. Um.
S1: And we are also told we kind of need to clean cans and bottles , things like that. But , you know , with some types of foods it can be really hard to clean. So I think I always struggle with how much do you need to clean cans and bottles that we're putting into the recycling bin ? Yeah.
S2: So you'll want to think about is the residue enough to get all over everything else. So if you're throwing out a jar of marinara sauce and it still has like , you know , a quarter of the sauce is still in the jar when that jar breaks , it's gonna , um , kind of burst open and get all over the cardboard and the paper and everything that could have been recycled is now considered unrecyclable because it's contaminated with marinara sauce. Um , however , if you have something like a jar of peanut butter or a yogurt cup , as long as it's relatively clean , we call it spoon clean. So if you kind of take in a spoon or a knife and scraped out what you can , um , that is going to go into the recycling bin and it's not really going to spill all over everything. So that's generally okay to recycle. And the recycling facilities that are cyclical materials go to have cleaning processes in place to clean those materials so that they do get recycled.
S1: Well , that's I mean that's great information. And I was particularly focused on the peanut butter because it is just impossible to like fully clean.
S2: Yeah , absolutely. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Really appreciate you clearing that up for me. I mean , so what if , you know , what if I really just don't know where something should go ? What what resources are there to help someone , you know , find out.
S2: Yeah , I would recommend going to waste free , dawg. Um , there you can type in basically anything that you want to learn how to recycle. You'll type in your zip code , um , and it will bring up a list of places where you can recycle it , whether that be your curbside blue bin , your organic waste bin , or a variety of different specialty recyclers.
S1: Okay , I want to circle back now to composting in this organic waste in San Diegans actually can access the byproduct of this organic waste. Can you tell me more about that ? Yeah.
S3:
S2: So if you are a resident of the city of San Diego , um , they have free compost available for residents and you can go to the Miramar Greenery. Just bring your truck or something to put it in , and you can scoop some free compost and take it home with you.
S1:
S2: Um , I lead our , uh , waste recovery team. We have our school recycling program , so we work with schools to help implement organic waste recycling at schools. Uh , we also have our hazardous waste hotline. We do clothing swap events and repair workshops. And then outside of my team , we are best known for our cleanup events. So we hold clean up events all throughout the county , both on the beaches and in inland areas. And then we do a lot of education as well. So we do K through 12 presentations , and then we do a lot of community workshops talking about a variety of different things , whether it be sustainable traveling or sustainable fashion , um , composting a variety of different topics.
S1: And we'll have more links to that on our website at KPBS. Org I've been speaking with Amy Unruh from I love a Clean San Diego. Amy , thanks so much for joining us. And I think you're enlightened , several of us already with some of these tips , so I appreciate it. Good.
UU: Thanks for having me.
S1: When we come back , we hear about a new research study looking into how the media covers stories about the environment and what impacts that coverage can have.
S4: I think we need to focus much more on the practical solutions and and how they are compatible with what we want to do in terms of direction of the economy and employment and so on. That's how we're going to make progress ultimately , on the climate problem , as opposed to trying to scare people about the impacts.
S1: That's ahead on Midday Edition. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Andrew Bracken in for Jade Hindman. Summer hasn't been here for long , and already many parts of the country are feeling the effects of extreme weather , from heat domes to tropical storms and more. Along with that can come greater focus on climate change and its effects. A new study out of UC San Diego found differences in how certain news outlets cover the topic of climate change. And I'm joined now by one of the authors behind that study , David Victor. David's a professor of innovation and public policy at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego , as well as the co-director of their Deep Decarbonization Initiative. David , welcome back to the show.
S4: It's great to be back.
S1: So tell us about this study that looked into climate coverage in media.
S4: Think of the New York Times , The Wall Street Journal , The Washington Post , a few others , sometimes called elite Newspapers. We looked at those , and then we compared them with a with a new database that covers all media , all media sources across the entire country. And what we did is just track the extent to which the media was paying attention to climate change. And what we found is that since 2012 , so over the last decade or so , media attention to climate change has risen enormously in all media outlets. But it's risen roughly four times the earlier levels in the elite newspapers and and only roughly doubling in the in the rest of the newspapers that cover the rest of the country.
S1:
S4: There's no question that we are learning a lot more about climate change. We're also experiencing climate change. We're seeing this extreme effects. You know , the extreme weather events are not any individual one due to climate change necessarily , but the probability of them goes up. And so the media , quite accurate is covering those kinds of topics. They're also covering a lot of international meetings , like the meetings on on the UN framework on climate change in Paris and last year in Dubai. They're covering the pope talking about climate change and God's creation. So there's a lot more media attention that that reflects reality. But there's also been a big shift in the media. Uh , for the most part , uh , news sources across the country are frankly struggling. They're they're relying much more heavily on wire services and so on. Whereas the elite news outlets like The New York Times , uh , they have actually staffed up their their climate change desk. And so they're covering a lot more , uh , news on climate change.
S1:
S4: We're making a lot of progress in terms of controlling emissions. We're not going to stop warming at two degrees. A widely discussed two degrees Celsius , a widely discussed goal. But we're we're lowering the , the , the level of warming that we would have experienced otherwise. And so there's been a lot of progress on on controlling emissions. But nonetheless , we're in for a lot of the physical impacts of climate change. So one of the things we could be doing better is , is , is covering those physical impacts. How do they affect individuals , how do they affect our insurance rates and so on. That's one thing. I think the second thing we need to do is pay closer attention to how climate change interacts with other things that people , frankly , often care a lot more about. How do the opportunities in green and the green energy revolution , how do they affect jobs ? Uh , how does air pollution , uh , interact with climate change ? That's a people people are harmed more from local air pollution as a result of also warming. And that's going to make the climate problem more tangible to to to regular folks and also be something where you can see the concretely the benefits that come from action on climate change.
S1: One interesting piece of this study is how it frames the types of news outlets you looked at. You put them into those two categories. I think you referred to it earlier , elite and then the other one , heartland. And I think , you know , when talking about current divides more broadly in society , that kind of framing , you know , comes up a lot. But how does this play out in conversations around climate change specifically ? You know , this , this duality here between these two categories.
S4: Yeah , and those can be loaded terms , but I'm going to use them in part because the term elite is is a term that's widely used in discussing media lists. There are a handful of news outlets that that are papers of record and and to us , the reason we did this study is because most media studies around climate change have focused on those elite news outlets , and we were concerned that there was a bias in that , in that research , that people were not paying enough attention to what most Americans where most Americans get , get their news. So that's why we did the why we did the study. I think it's it's really interesting to see the the divergence and the divergence has happened , especially since 2015. And it does not appear to be because of partisanship. You know , a lot of things have diverged because of partisanship. It's really because the elite news outlets have now covering a lot more , uh , news on climate change.
S1: And it also comes in a time when , um , news organizations are having a difficult time surviving and are cutting back. Um , we're seeing increased in these news deserts of these smaller communities , this heartland areas that I think you're kind of talking about here that may not have dedicated news resources to those communities. Absolutely.
S4: Absolutely. And I think that's key to understanding the politics around climate change. It's going to be really important for us to build and hold together a large political coalition that wants action on climate change , not just on the left of American politics , but also on the right and the center right of American politics. Put that put that big group together , and that's going to require much more attention to the middle of the country. It's going to require more attention to rural areas. And there are big , big exposures that our farmers have , for example , to to the physical effects of climate change. They're big opportunities in the middle of the country around renewable energy. And the more we can cover those kinds of stories and show the tangible benefits around climate policy , I think that's going to build a bigger coalition , and it's going to be more a more reliable coalition , even as as Washington swings left , swings right. And we have , you know , kind of torrential storms in American politics.
S1: And on on those storms. And , of course , we're in a presidential election year this year , as I probably need to remind no one , but the last time we had you on midday , we talked about the importance of taking a bipartisan approach to climate policy. But , you know , there still remains these large ideological divides.
S4: I think a lot has changed. Let me comment on the Republican Party and not my party , but but the but a lot of changes happen in the Republican Party. There's a fringe that doesn't believe in climate , and they'll always not believe in climate. And I think it's kind of hopeless to try and convince them. But what you're seeing now is much more attention to the center right of American politics. Some people looking at climate through , through the lens of , of stewardship of , of God's creation , some people looking at climate change through through industrial policy and opportunities to create new industries , some people looking at it through the opportunities in rural areas , for example , to sequester carbon. And so that's actually happening. And we're we're seeing that change also on Capitol Hill. It doesn't mean that that Republicans are always going to vote for legislation the Democrats like on climate change. But it means that that you've got a lot of interest in , in , in the center right of the Republican Party around , around climate. Add to that the center left of of American politics. And we're starting to see this broad coalition really form and take hold.
S1: I think one common reaction that I definitely hear a fair amount about news more generally , you know , maybe it's from the pandemic or just the state of politics , as we've kind of talked about , but people feeling exhausted from the news. Is that something that you often hear when it comes to climate change and how news covers it ? Yeah.
S4: People are feeling exhausted. They're feeling scared. I don't think scare , for the most part , sells quite often. Really. Negative stories about climate change convinced the already convinced. Um , it there does seem to be some growing evidence that's that stories that show tangible things that you can do , how they're not going to break the bank , how they're not going to affect other things , that people care , frankly , a lot more about , like inflation , job security , and that that's the polling data show very clearly those kinds of topics are much higher on voters minds these , uh , these months that , that that's how you're going to going to convince people to take action on climate change.
S1:
S4: You know , you see a growing evidence that especially younger folks are in despair about the state of the world. And there's a lot about the state of the world that is of concern. There's no question about it. But there's also a lot that's going actually pretty well. Climate change is one of those areas. 15 years ago , we were on track for five degrees Celsius of warming , uh , above pre-industrial levels over the coming century. Now we're on track for maybe 2.5°C. That's serious progress. Doesn't mean we need to , you know , rest at that. But I am very concerned that this kind of extremism and alarmism and the need for stories that that that that seem sensational has , has desensitized folks and , and a topic like climate change requires real attention to what's practical , what's not practical , and a kind of long measured approaches. It's like running a marathon instead of a sprint. Yeah.
S5: Yeah.
S1: And on that , I mean , earlier this year , actually , Midday Edition did do a show on climate anxiety , um , speaking with youth about it. Um , I mean , do you ever feel overwhelmed ? I mean , you work in this , you know , space every day , um , at all levels.
S4: There's no question about that. Uh , what what gives me hope is that we're making progress. Uh , overall , where I'm focusing more and more of my attention on the parts of the problem that aren't getting enough , uh , a policy focus. And I in particular , I'm very , very concerned about our resilience to the physical impacts of climate change. You know , if we look ahead and we get ready and we look at what there's going to be the effects of rising sea levels and stronger storms and wildfires and so on , we can manage these problems. The American society is ingenious , many other societies and ingenious. It's not going to be free , but we need to be looking ahead and really getting ready for for these kinds of physical impacts of climate change. And so that's an area I'm not defeatist about it , but that's an area where I'm now focusing more of my attention.
S5: Well , and.
S1: On these physical impacts of climate change , is there any evidence that that will , you know , help change behavior more broadly ? Do people respond more when it's , you know , you know , 2023 was the hottest year on record , right ? I mean , these things are becoming pretty apparent to , to folks as we see , you know , extreme weather right now. Yeah.
S4: Yeah. What it seems to do is increase abstract concern about climate , but that doesn't necessarily translate into concrete actions. One of the things we see in the media data is that when there's an extreme weather event or extreme event that's linked to climate change , wildfires are the most salient example. Then we sometimes see worldwide attention to climate change goes up for a while , and then it tapers off after , you know , a week or so. And so I think we need to focus much more on the practical solutions and , and how they are compatible with what we want to do in terms of direction of the economy and employment and so on , that those that's how we're going to make progress ultimately , on the climate problem , as opposed to trying to scare people about the impacts.
S1: On those practical solutions. Earlier , we actually had a conversation on recycling , kind of digging into it , you know , something small that I think each of us do to hopefully have a positive impact on our environment. We often turn to you to give us more big picture view of what's happening on climate issues. Any final thoughts on how we can be thinking about the state of climate change today ? I mean , you mentioned some of the progress , though we're not , you know , fully there on our climate goals and some of the results we'd like to see , right.
S4: You know , get informed about who you're voting into office. And also if you want to do something yourself around climate change , go do your own carbon budget. Figure out what your own activities , the emissions that are the result of those activities , and what of those activities make sense for you to control on your own ? And what really requires policy ? Because I think , frankly , a lot of this ultimately requires policy , which is why we need to be engaged in this problem as ultimately as a political and policy problem.
S1: On that , you know , idea of making a carbon budget.
S4: If you just search for that , you can go there and type in your data and it'll tell you something about your , your emissions. Uh , frankly , a lot of people there are emissions. The biggest emissions are caused by flying. And that's one of those areas where we depend on policy. Our group at UC San Diego does a lot of work on this , on this topic. Over the long term , we can have a really , really big impact on on disconnecting what we want from flying , which is to move around and meet people and , and see the world from the emissions that cause climate change.
S1: David Victor is a professor of innovation and public policy at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego. David , thanks , as always for joining us.
S4: Andrew , terrific. Great to talk with you.
