By Lev Farris Goldenberglevfg2000@gmail.com

College representatives from the Northern California chapter of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU 1021) published a petition on Sept. 29, demanding that the Board of Trustees hire more recycling and zero-waste staff. The petition claims that the Board has failed to fulfill a promise made in 2022 to fully staff its own climate justice initiative.

“Recycling bins are overflowing, and staff are stretched to the limit,” reads the petition.

According to Carlita Martinez, the college’s recycling coordinator and sustainable materials manager, the board approved a staffing plan in 2022 that would have added 10 new positions – in two batches of five – by 2024.

In May, Martinez submitted a report to the Board of Trustees detailing her department’s staffing shortage. The petition, which is based on Martinez’s report, alleges that City College’s management is “asking custodians to work without proper training or proper classification to aid in recycling efforts.” She sent the report again in October.

Currently, City College has three recycling staff members spread across its six campuses. There were only two recycling staff until Oct. 22, when the college hired a third. Most of the recycling staff work on Ocean Campus, as it is the largest and produces the most waste.

“What that means is that there is no staffing to manage the waste flows in all these other centers, and that is a major problem,” Martinez said.

When recycling bins reach their maximum capacity, the custodians – who, unlike the recycling staff, do not sort waste – send most of the recyclables to the landfill.

If the waste across City College campuses is not properly sorted, Recology can report it to the San Francisco Environment Department to conduct an audit, ensuring compliance with the city’s Refuse Separation Compliance law, passed in 2018. 

As of July 2023, if the college fails to pass an audit from the SFE, the department can issue fines of up to $1,000 per day for each day the violation continues. According to Associate Vice Chancellor of Facilities Alberto Vasquez, non-compliance with waste mandates can also lead to increases in Recology service rates.

Beyond city compliance, the board has set its own standards with the City College Green New Deal, Climate Action and Sustainability Plan, adopted in 2024. The college’s policy set a benchmark of reaching zero landfill waste by 2031.

“How are you going to get to zero waste if you don’t have the staffing in place to do it?” Martinez said. 

Vasquez stated that the Board approved two new positions at the beginning of the fall semester. He plans to hire a fourth by November.

The recycling staff also employs four part-time students to aid in its work. According to Martinez, the department employed 20 part-time students before the pandemic.

Yet still, the recycling department remains understaffed. “We are always trying to find staff for the (recycling) department,” Vasquez said. “But the budget-related decisions have maxed us out at four positions right now … it’s been, unfortunately, a yo-yo process.”

The recycling coordinator’s report submitted to the board alleges that a “staff member was injured on the job due to unsafe, understaffed conditions” and that “City College is out of compliance with zero-waste mandates and faces potential fines.”

Martinez said so far, she has protected City College from being stung by audits and fines from the SFE. 

“Maybe that has not been good; my job should be to keep the college in compliance,” she said. “Every large institution has growing pains … but City College is stagnant and is not moving.”