D.C. Council seeks ways to reduce District’s waste

D.C. lawmakers on Monday discussed legislation that aims to reduce the District’s waste and divert more of it from landfills and incineration as a means to help reach the city’s sustainability goals in 13 years.

Council member Mary Cheh, chairwoman of the Transportation and the Environment Committee, held a hearing Monday on the Zero Waste Omnibus Amendment Act of 2019 and noted the city government’s goal to divert 80% of the District’s waste by 2032.

“Progress on the goal has proceeded slowly, and the District lags well behind other jurisdictions in our waste diversion efforts,” said Ms. Cheh, Ward 3 Democrat. “Our current city wide residential diversion rate is only 23% which puts us behind the national average of 34% and well behind other progressive jurisdictions like Montgomery County at about 60% and San Francisco above 70%.”

The legislation, which was introduced in October by eight council members, would require commercial food producers such as those at universities, hospitals, hotels and large restaurants, to separate and compost their food waste.

It also would require restaurants to provide only reusable plates, cups and bowls for on-site eating and offer only accessory disposable ware, such as napkins and silverware, upon request.

In addition, the bill would create extended product responsibility programs for batteries and sharp objects such as needles and syringes. It would be similar to the District’s paint stewardship law, which requires paint manufacturers to collect and recycle or safely dispose of their unused products.

Catherine Plume, vice chair of the local chapter of the Sierra Club, said restaurants could reduce their waste by 90% by composting. She applauded the legislation’s varied approaches to achieving sustainability but expressed concern about enforcing it if it becomes law.

“As you know, there are currently only three staff at [the Department of Energy and Environment] who are responsible for ensuring that the straw ban, bag fee, and compostable carryout materials are abided by,” Ms. Plume testified. “This proposed legislation is much more ambitious and will require a significantly large enforcement force to be viable.”

Andrew Kline, an attorney representing the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, said his organization supports aspects of the legislation but thinks it “raise[s] the bar too quickly.”

He recommended that the legislation at first incentivize restaurants to comply rather than mandate compliance immediately because several restaurants don’t have the space to sort their waste and there aren’t enough compost facilities in the area to manage all of the new waste.

Mark Kohorst, a representative of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, said recycling batteries isn’t worth the effort.

“Collecting, transporting and processing batteries is a net negative for the environment,” Mr. Kohorst said, adding that batteries make up only a very small portion of pollution, it is energy-intensive to recycle them, and there isn’t much use for recycled batteries.

Zeki Kelton of the Energy Justice Network said the bill doesn’t go far enough to end the District’s relationship with the “most polluting and expensive option for waste we have left” — incineration.

Ms. Kelton pointed out that the District has a contract with the country’s third-largest trash incinerator, Covanta Fairfax, which she said is the largest nitrogen oxygen polluter within 20 miles of the city.

No representative of Covanta Fairfax attended Monday’s hearing. Efforts to contact a spokesperson did not succeed.