Big Bear DisposalComposting, Recycling

New California Statewide Mandatory Organic Waste Collection

Beginning in 2022, SB 1383 requires every jurisdiction to provide organic waste collection services to all residents and businesses.

  • “Jurisdiction” means a city, county, a city and county, or a special district that provides solid waste collection services.
  • “Organic waste” includes food, green material, landscape and pruning waste, organic textiles and carpets, lumber, wood, paper products, printing and writing paper, manure, biosolids, digestate, and sludges.

Jurisdictions can select from a variety of organic waste collection services to match their unique communities and local infrastructure, while producing clean streams of organic feedstock that can be recycled into high-quality, marketable recycled products, including compost, renewable natural gas, electricity, and paper.

Jurisdictions will educate all residents and businesses about collection requirements, including what materials to put in curbside bins. Education to residents and businesses may vary by jurisdiction and educational content may be provided electronically, through hard copy materials, or through direct outreach.

Young boy and girl put food scraps into a kitchen compost bin
A young boy pushes an organics curbside bin across the grass

Collection Requirements

Single-Family Home Residents and Multifamily Complexes of Less than Five Units

  • Residents are required to subscribe to and participate in their jurisdiction’s organics curbside collection service.
  • Residents are required to properly sort their organic waste into the correct containers.
  • Some jurisdictions will allow residents to self-haul their organic waste. If this is the case, the jurisdiction will provide information about the requirements for self-hauling.
Curbside organics green dumpsters

Multifamily Residents and Multifamily Complexes

  • Multifamily complexes of five units or more are required to either:
    1. To subscribe to and participate in their jurisdiction’s organics curbside collection service OR
    2. To self-haul organic waste to a specified composting facility, community composting program, or other collection activity or program.
  • The following activities would be conducted by the multifamily complex property owner or the manager:
    • Multifamily complexes are required to provide organic waste collection services for:
      • Employees
      • Tenants
    • They must supply and allow access to an adequate number, size, and location of containers with the correct labels or container colors.
    • They must also
      1. Annually educate employees and tenants on how to properly sort organic waste into the correct bins, AND
      2. Provide information to new tenants within 14 days of occupation of the premises.

Multifamily Complex Residents

Residents of multifamily complexes must properly sort their organic waste into the correct containers.