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Diverting Organic Waste and Recyclables Now Mandatory Under New State Law
Effective January 1, 2024, jurisdictions can issue notice of violations and fines for generators that are not compliant with SB 1383.
Effective January 1, 2022, California state law Senate Bill (SB) 1383 Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy, requires all businesses, residents, and multifamily properties, to separate organic materials (such as plant debris, food waste, food soiled papers, untreated wood waste) and recyclable materials from trash, and either subscribe to the required collection services or self-haul to an appropriate facility for diversion.
JUMP TO SECTIONS ON THIS PAGE:
The GOAL | The WHO | The WHAT | The HOW | The TOOLKIT | The WHY | The ENFORCEMENT
The GOAL of SB 1383
- Reduce organic waste disposal 75% by 2025.
- Rescue 20% of surplus edible food for those that need it by 2025.
SB 1383 Requirements and Timeline
Source: CalRecycle
WHO: Who Does This Affect?
- Single-Family homes/Condos/Townhomes
- Multifamily properties (such as condos or apartments with 3+ or more units, and for City of El Cerrito with 5+ or more units),
- Commercial Businesses
- Public/Private Schools
WHAT: What Does This Mean?
The SB 1383 law has expanded on the requirements of AB 341 – Mandatory Commercial Recycling and AB 1826 – Mandatory Commercial Recycling.
The Changes:
- This impacts residents, businesses, and multifamily properties – sorting of organics and recyclables is now mandatory.
- Large food-generating businesses like Supermarkets and Wholesale Food Distributors are now required to contract with an edible food recovery organization to donate excess edible food to help feed people.
HOW: How Do I Participate?
Here is how you can participate to be compliant with the SB 1383 law:
MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES
As of January 1, 2022, all multifamily properties (such as condos or apartments with 3+ or more units, and for City of El Cerrito with 5+ or more units), under state law, are now required to provide an organics cart for tenant food waste as well as manage all landscaping debris generated at the site. If you have a landscaper, you must verify that they are delivering all removed landscaping debris to a compost facility or utilizing your on-site green cart.
If you are a multifamily property owner or manager, please call your waste management collection services company to request the required containers or to request a site visit to discuss service options.
For businesses located in El Cerrito, contact East Bay Sanitary.
For businesses located in all other cities of West Contra Costa County, contact Republic Services.
It is recommended that property management ask tenants to opt-in to the food waste program. While not all tenants are required to participate, all accounts must have a green cart available to tenants that opt-in to participate.
Multifamily property owners are required under the law to provide information on recycling and composting to tenants annually and upon move-in and upon notice of move out. Tenant instructions are available for those tenants that wish to participate in the food waste program.
TOOLKIT
West Contra Costa County Residents:
For convenience, here are some resources to access to help provide the information to your tenants in the Republic Service area:
Apartment & Condominium Waste Services Guide – Brochure
Apartment & Condominium Waste Services Guide – Brochure – Spanish
Organics Notification Letter Template
Organics Notification Letter Template – Spanish
Sample Lease Agreement – Spanish
What Goes Where Poster – Organics
What Goes Where Poster – Recycling
What Goes Where Poster – Trash
City of El Cerrito Residents:
For convenience, here are some resources to access to help provide the information to your tenants in the City of El Cerrito:
Commercial/Multifamily Waste Services Guide – Brochure
Commercial/Multifamily Waste Services Guide – Brochure – Spanish
Commercial/Multifamily Waste Services Guide – Brochure – Mandarin
Organics Notification Letter Template
Organics Notification Letter Template – Spanish
Organics Notification Letter Template – Mandarin
Sample Lease Agreement – Spanish
Sample Lease Agreement – Mandarin
What Goes Where Poster – Organics
What Goes Where Poster – Recycling
What Goes Where Poster – Trash
To obtain Food Scrap Pails for your tenants:
- For West Contra Costa County residents, contact Republic Services Sustainability Coordinators at [email protected] or call (510) 262-7140.
- For City of El Cerrito Residents contact the the El Cerrito Recycling + Environmental Resource Center at [email protected] or call (510) 215-4350.
Additional Resources – Videos
WHY: Why Is This Important?
Complying with this state law helps combat climate change by recycling organic waste correctly. Organic waste is the largest waste stream in California and items like food scraps, yard trimmings, paper, and cardboard make up half of what Californian’s dump in landfills. When these organic materials are sent to a landfill, they generate methane, a powerful climate pollutant. Landfills are the third largest source of methane in the state and are contributing to the drought, wildfires, and flooding that we are seeing around the state and nation. In addition, air pollutants contribute to health conditions and breathing issues like asthma.
Landfills are the Third Largest Source of Methane Gas in California
Source: CalRecycle
By diverting organic material to compost facilities, we are directly reducing the amount of climate pollutants generated by our waste materials.
Fighting Climate Change by Recycling Organic Waste
Source: CalRecycle
ENFORCEMENT: Compliance Monitoring, Sorting, and Violations
VIOLATIONS
As of January 1, 2024, jurisdictions can issue notice of violations and fines for generators that are not compliant with SB 1383.
MONITORING OF PROPERLY SORTING WASTE
As a requirement of SB 1383, annual audits for Multifamily properties must be performed to ensure waste is properly sorted.
Your garbage collection company will be conducting random inspections of containers periodically to identify contamination and encourage proper materials separation.
These inspections will involve minimal handling of your material and may include opening of bags to inspect container contents. Auditors will be wearing reflective vests and may spend several minutes conducting their audit activities, in the early morning hours. If your containers have been inspected, you will be notified with a tag placed on your container with the outcome.
If you have any questions, please contact your garbage collection company: Republic Services Customer Service Department at (510) 262-7100 or East Bay Sanitary Customer Service Department at (510) 237-4321.