Resolution No. 009-99-COE

WHEREAS, the City and County of San Francisco has long promoted the use of reusable and recycled products through its purchasing practices, educational efforts, and policy initiatives; and

WHEREAS, approximately 793,000 tons of solid waste are currently being landfilled each year by the community of San Francisco; and

WHEREAS, the cost of collecting and landfilling those wastes are estimated at $100 million annually; and

WHEREAS, the City and County of San Francisco is charged with achieving the goals of reducing, reusing and recycling 50% of all solid waste by year 2000 and 75% by 2010; and,

WHEREAS, in 1989 the City and County of San Francisco instituted residential curbside collection and recycling of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic soda bottles; and,

WHEREAS, the City and County of San Francisco recycles less than 2% of the 85 million pounds of plastic used each year; and

WHEREAS, in 1992 plastics occupied more than 20% of landfill space nationwide, and that by the year 2000 plastics will occupy more than a quarter of landfill space nationwide; and

WHEREAS, in 1990 the Coca-Cola Company voluntarily committed to using recycled PET in their containers;

WHEREAS, in 1995 the Coca-Cola Company reversed itself and made the decision to stop using recycled plastic bottles and consequently increase its use of virgin, non-recycled PET plastic, and moved away from the use of easily recyclable glass, and aluminum for their containers; and

WHEREAS, FDA-approved technology exists today to incorporate recycled PET into new beverage containers, and proven technology for refillable plastic bottles also exists, and in fact both of these processes are being done by Coca-Cola itself in many countries throughout the world; and

WHEREAS, the use of recycled PET in the production of beverage containers would have an enormous positive impact on the value of recycled PET; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the Commission on the Environment urges the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco to write a letter to the Coca-Cola Company urging it to use recycled PET in their bottles, thereby closing the recycling loop, and thereby returning a measure of profitability to the operations of our nation's public and private recycling programs; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Commission on the Environment urges the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco to call upon Coca-Cola to commit to the introduction of refillable soda bottles into the U.S. market, similar to those in use by Coca-Cola in other countries, and to commit to the sale of 5% of its packaged soft drinks in such refillable containers in the U.S. by year 2003; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Commission on the Environment urges the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco to work with Coca-Cola and with other beverage manufacturers to successfully achieve these goals.