San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors just signed into law an ordinance that will require households and businesses to compost. Starting this fall, everyone except those who get waivers must have a recycling, trash and compost bin, with warnings and then fines for noncompliance.
Using the stick instead of the carrot will always rub some people the wrong way, but I’m fine with it here. The environmental stakes are high, 
people! And if any place is ready for it, it’s San Fran, which has had curbside compost collection for years.Â
The possibility of fines are sure to light up the internets, but before we start talking about Big Brother and fears of a food waste fuzz, read this:
“In any scenario there will be repeated notices and phone calls before we even start talking about fines,” said Jared Blumenfeld, head of the city’s Department of the Environment. “We don’t want to fine people.”
City officials would levy any fines, and the legislation doesn’t provide funding for new trash inspectors. “It doesn’t create trash police,” Blumenfeld said.
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