(SAN FRANCISCO, CA.) - During the city's commission meeting Wednesday, the Department of Environment’s 30-year anniversary was celebrated alongside unfavored budget cut proposals.
San Francisco has been an innovator and leader in positive environmental policy and implementation for years now. Largely, this is due to the work of the SF Environment Department. Many environmental “firsts” have been spearheaded by the city, including the three-bin system (1999), the passage of the Precautionary Purchasing Ordinance (in 2003, merging economic decisions with consideration for human and environmental health), the nation’s first citywide plastic bag ban (2007), and the requiring of solar installations on all new buildings (2016).
Support for building momentum within the environmental sector continues as 17 organizations were represented in the request and approval for grant money that would total $939,241 in awards. The full list is as follows, per the outline supplied by SF Environment Department:
Bayview Community Concerned Citizens- “Reducing exposure to toxics and improving air quality in Bayview Hunters Point”
Asian Pacific American Community Center- "Decreasing recycling and compost contamination at affordable housing in Sunnydale”
Hunters Point Family- “‘Repair and Renew’ community education pop-ups in Bayview Hunters Point”
Claire Bonham-Carter Foundation- “Community-run repair work (cafes, etc.)”
Local Motion- “Citywide bicycle repair and education repair clinics”
Strange Exchange- "Extending the life of small household items in the Haight”
Scrap- “Waste recovery through reuse, education, and practice citywide”
Farming Hope- “Food recovery program serving Civic Center and citywide communities”
Extra Food- “Installation of 10 community refrigerators with recovered food at nonprofits and affordable housing”
The SF Market- “Citywide food recovery and redistribution”
Formr- “Upcycling lumber from deconstruction projects in SOMA and citywide”
UCSF- “Utilizing new technologies to reduce campus contamination and reduce organics going to landfill”
Friends of Alemany Farm- “Enhancing the closed-loop garden-to-compost cycle in Portola”
Garden for the Environment- “Hands-on composting workshops and education for residents citywide”
Oakland Tech Exchange- "Reducing e-waste by hosting ‘Refurbathons’ for volunteers to refurbish and redistribute computers to people with limited digital access”
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition- “Education and workforce development training for low-income youth in bike repair and maintenance”
YMCA of Greater San Francisco- "Environmental Ambassador development for seniors 60+ in Chinatown”
Photo Credit: Bayview Community Concerned Citizens, Asian Pacific American Community Center,
Hunters Point Family, Claire Bonham-Carter Foundation, Local Motion, Strange Exchange, Scrap, Farming Hope, Extra Food, The SF Market, Formr, UCSF, Friends of Alemany Farm, Garden for the Environment, Oakland Tech Exchange, San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, YMCA
Photo Credit: YouTube
On the other hand, according to opgov.ai, the city’s financial deficiencies are affecting SF Environment Department’s budget to the tune of a 10% cut in general funds. 7.81 full-time positions would likewise be done away with and significant hits would be taken in the “climate action, clean transportation, and community outreach programs”. This directly contradicts the benefits of backing environmental health and sustainability as these sectors “historically generate a 29:1 return on investment”.
The Commission seemed to recognize this and voted against the Mayor’s new budget proposal. They further passed a resolution (File 2026-02-COE) that urges the “Mayor and Board of Supervisors to restore funding” worth $3.4 million to better support SF Environment Department’s programs.
Photo Credit: All Organizations
Lastly, current and upcoming environmental issues relevant to the Department were discussed.
Within the Director’s Report, it was stated that the SF Parks & Recreation Department will be holding a hearing on February 19th regarding the presence of toxic chemicals in synthetic turf. Also, a new website called “Charge Up SF” has been launched as a new electric vehicle charging mapping tool, strides are being made to connect small businesses with incentives to lower their utility bills, and the public comment period for the mandatory edible food recovery ordinance is closing but moving forward successfully.
Charles Sheehan, Chief Policy and Public Affairs Officer for SF Department of the Environment, brought up that topics of consideration will include the 2026 Climate Action Plan for San Francisco (soon to be released), the greenhouse gas inventory for the city, and the results of the grantees from the School Education team.
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Submit comments and story ideas to Enya Niebergall at enya.n@lead4earth.org
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