San Francisco Brings Recycling to the iPhone

GoodCleanTech, 19 June 2009

Outspoken San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom continues to keep his city on the cutting edge of what’s eco friendly and what technology can do. After the collapse of US support for the Kyoto protocol, he created a local global climate action plans to roll back emissions 20% below 1990 levels by 2012–twice as ambitious as the Kyoto Protocol.

And San Francisco recently converted its diesel fleet to biodiesel, B20, which it sources from fats, oils, and grease in restaurants and larger companies. Now Treehugger notes that the mayor has spearheaded the development of an iPhone app to help citizens find local recycling information, and that the mayor has even written an essay for Cleantechnica to announce the new application. Newsom writes that:

This iPhone app is a great example of San Francisco embracing the emerging philosophy of Government 2.0 — using web and mobile technologies to provide more effective processes for delivering government services. By sharing our EcoFinder database via an XML data feed, we’ve been able to develop the iPhone app with community partners, as well as provide accurate information to Earth911.com’s national recycling database.

San Franciscans are certainly more receptive to the green message than residents of any other city in the country, but that doesn’t mean other major metropolitan areas shouldn’t follow suit. As Newsom says, “The opportunity to fundamentally transform government by deploying the innovation and expertise in the web and mobile industries should not be ignored by municipalities. I firmly believe that, just as San Francisco has been an environmental leader, we can help change the way cities connect with their government.”