ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP
REDUCING OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT
I’m proud of my record of protecting our environment, which is everyone’s responsibility-and unpredictable weather patterns, fire danger, and sea level rise point to the importance of these issues every day.
As Mayor, I made it my priority to sign the U.S. Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement and to establish our city’s carbon footprint and seek to protect our environment.
During my time on the City Council, Millbrae has undertaken concrete actions at the municipal level to reduce our carbon footprint, promote clean energy, and conserve our previous natural resources, including:
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Participating in Peninsula Clean Energy, and choosing 100% renewable energy;
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Installing energy efficient lighting throughout city facilities, parks, libraries, and streetlights
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Upgrading the heating and air conditioning systems (HVAC) at the Community Center
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Upgrading the city fleet with natural gas and hybrid vehicles
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Installing electric vehicle charging stations at City facilities and parking lots and holding electric vehicle workshops
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Participating in the Spare the Air program,
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Utilizing kitchen waste grease from restaurants to provide energy at the Wastewater Treatment Plant and Operations Center
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Joining the Climate Protection Task Force for San Mateo and Santa Clara counties
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Diverting waste form landfills. Millbrae has surpassed State-mandated diversion requirements and currently has a 67% waste reduction and recycling waste.
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Adopting the first Sustainable Food Service Waste Ordinance in the County prohibiting restaurants from using polystyrene foam and solid food service waste
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Adopting the first Single-Use Carryout Bag Ordinance in the County prohibiting the use of plastic shopping bags
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Implementing the Green Business Program, including certifying and recertifying City Hall and the Library as Green Businesses and promoting the program to local businesses
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Joining the Flood and Sea Level Rise Resiliency Agency
BAN ON POLYSTYRENE (STYROFOAM)
I fought for and voted to implement the county’s first ban on polystyrene food service ware.
PAPAN STARTS REGIONAL BATTLE AGAINST PLASTIC BAGS
I led the battle against the use of plastic bags because of the negative environmental impact resulting in volumes of plastic that end up in our landfills, and the fly away factor causing major litter which becomes stuck in storm drains and harms marine life in the San Francisco Bay. Millbrae has distributed thousands of reusable bags made from recycled plastic bottles.
CO-GENERATION – TURNING RESTAURANT GREASE INTO CLEAN ENERGY
In a public-private partnership, Millbrae became even more environmentally friendly following construction of our City’s a first-of-its-kind on-site energy co-generation facility. The innovative system supplies 80% of the plant’s electricity with clean energy produced from inedible kitchen grease – a common urban waste – that would otherwise be sent to landfills and decompose into methane, a formidable greenhouse gas. The on-site energy production at the plant reduces carbon emissions by nearly 1.2 million pounds annually, having the same effect as planting 166 acres of trees or not driving 116 cars for a year.
WATER CONSERVATION & SECURITY
Water conservation, security , and improving water efficiency have also been major points of focus of my leadership on the Millbrae City Council . In addition to replacing Millbrae’s aging water infrastructure, my policies help residents reduce water use through education and incentives, including rebates to support increased use of low-flow toilets and shower heads, distribution of lawn watering guides, sprinkler gauges, and toilet leak dye tablets. During these uncertain times, any way that we can help families save money is important!