In 2016, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1383 into law, establishing methane emissions reductions that include:
- A 50% reduction of organic waste disposal by 2020, and 75% by 2025.
- Rescuing at least 20% of currently disposed surplus food to be provided to food-insecure people, by 2025.
This law, SB 1383, focuses on diverting food waste and organics from landfills and is enforced by CalRecycle, the State’s enforcement agency for solid waste legislation. CalRecycle requires all jurisdictions to bear the responsibility for compliance with these emission reduction targets, including the Woodbridge Sanitary District.
That said, non-compliance fines have yet to be enforced and a firm date for compliance with residential organics collection, including food waste, is set as December 31, 2022. A few jurisdictions in California already have curbside composting programs or other solutions to residential organic waste generation, however, an overwhelming majority of jurisdictions are in the same position as Woodbridge. All are required to implement their new organic waste collection services sometime in 2022.
At this time, no state funding has been allocated for the implementation of these mandates. In response to these aforementioned legislative changes, we at Cal-waste are developing a collection solution and processing technology that will allow us to control, but not eliminate, future rate increases.
The team at Cal-waste intends to provide prompt, safety-minded compliance to all of our customers as a result of State mandated legislation. We will continue to provide updates regarding the new state mandate and its effects on curbside service.
