Hiring a Zero Waste Facilitator?
Here are our answers before you ask.

What contamination do you see in each stream?

Any bin: electronics, batteries, paint, fluorescent lamps, or other hazardous items. Even one is an automatic fail, so we check for these first. Landfill: recoverable cardboard, clean bottles and cans, and food scraps that belong in compost. Recycling: food-soiled containers, plastic film and bags, coffee cups, and liquids left in bottles. Compost: plastic gloves, wrap, “compostable-looking” plastic cutlery, and packaging that isn’t accepted. The City’s audit fails compost above 5% contamination by volume, recycling above 10%, and landfill above 25%. In most buildings, a few items cause most of that, and we find yours first.

How would you remove or eliminate contamination?

Removal now, prevention for good. With a staffed sort, we remove contamination before collection. At every retainer site visit, we flag what we find and correct its underlying causes: bin placement, color-coded signage, collection routines, and brief coaching for staff on site. Hazardous and prohibited items get a disposal route, not just a sign.

What methods do you use to sort?

A visual inspection of every bin and enclosure, followed by a hands-on sort of representative bags from each stream. Where a stream is badly contaminated, we can provide a full staffed sort before pickup under an agreed scope. Each sort is logged by stream and, where it can be traced, by area, so the results point to where the problem starts.

What equipment do you use?

Sorting tables and tarps, a calibrated scale, tongs and grabbers, cut-resistant gloves and full PPE, clear bags for re-bagging, and a phone for photo documentation. We supply it and leave your dock as we found it.

What days, times, and locations will you work?

We schedule around your hauler’s collection days, not ours. Sorting happens in the hours before pickup (early morning, evening, or overnight) at your loading dock, refuse room, or enclosure. Your proposal names the service hours, staffing, and backup coverage.

How do you collect data from sorting and audits?

Every sort is recorded the same way, so results compare month to month:

• Visual contamination estimates by volume, matching how the City audits
• Weights by stream and by contaminant, for tracking operations over time
• Source area and dated before-and-after photos (tenant-level data is an add-on)

How do you use that data?

To aim training and fixes at the sources that matter. It’s also the evidence behind your Refuse Separation Compliance Ordinance Plan (RSCOP), which we prepare with you, and the basis for right-sizing your service. Your quarterly diversion report is included in the retainer — never an add-on.

How will you work with property management?

One named point of contact and a predictable rhythm: a short written note after each visit, a quarterly report with recommendations, and an immediate call if anything puts your compliance at risk. We work alongside your engineering, housekeeping, and kitchen teams.

How do you keep separation working long-term?

A spot-check and brief on-site coaching at each monthly visit, quarterly measurement against your baseline, and the six-month evaluation SF Environment requires after RSCOP approval. Training sessions for new staff or tenants are quoted separately.

An Order requires a facilitator at sufficient capacity for at least 24 consecutive months; our agreement states that term. With staffed sorting, keep our crew or choose a transition, typically 90 days, in which we train your staff against written milestones. Handoff follows a readiness check of your logs and a joint sort, consistent with your Order and RSCOP.