Cities not ready to rollout new state food waste law
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (Jan. 19, 2022) — Contra Costa communities, like those all over the state, are scrambling to rewrite local ordinances and waste hauler contracts to meet a new state law’s compost benchmarks.
Senate Bill 1383, effective Jan. 1, requires California residents and businesses to separate food waste from the rest of our trash. The statewide mandate will require cities to implement new infrastructures as well as monitoring and reporting practices.
“There will be great benefit, but there will also be costs involved,” Councilmember Carlyn Obringer said. “There will be a fee increase to cover the costs of providing this new service.”
Laura Hoffmeister, who serves on the Concord council and as assistant to the Clayton city manager, said the process has to be done one step at a time. “And the pandemic has really slowed things down.”
A phased-in plan
Passed in 2016 when Jerry Brown was governor, the law supports a more sustainable green economy, lower global emissions, reduction of hunger and improved public health. The program, which will be phased in over the next two years, is the most ambitious piece of waste reduction legislation in decades.
Susan Hurl, division municipal services manager for Republic Resources that serves Clayton and Pleasant Hill, is optimistic about the process.
“Every city and county will have to figure out how to deal with the law’s requirements; some are further along than others,” she said. “The key to success is public education, helping folks understand the new rules and the reasoning behind them.”
Mt. Diablo Resource Recovery, which hauls trash for Concord, is focusing on working with commercial customers to implement the law. They will begin expanded compost collection with residential and multi-family properties in 2023.
Stronger criteria for certain businesses
In addition to the composting mandate, the law requires that 20 percent of edible food that would otherwise be disposed of in the garbage or composted must be recovered for human consumption by 2025. Edible food from restaurants, supermarkets and other businesses must be packaged and donated to food banks, homeless shelters and other institutions to feed the needy. Remaining organic matter must be collected for composting. “Good Samaritan” laws will protect businesses from liability, should anyone get sick from eating the donated food.
The law went into effect for grocery stores, food service providers, distributors and wholesale providers on Jan. 1, 2022. Restaurants, hotels, schools, hospitals and other venues will have until 2023 to implement food donation plans.
Cities and other jurisdictions are also required to buy back products such as mulch, biofuels and compost created from green “waste” in specific quantities dictated by population. The local annual procurement targets for organic waste are 901 tons in Clayton, 10,342 tons in Concord and 2,732 tons in Pleasant Hill. These products will be used in landscaping, farming, energy production, animal feed and other industrial uses.
Addressing climate change
More than half of the trash produced by Californians is organic material, mostly kitchen scraps and garden waste. We currently send millions of tons of organic waste into landfills every year. SB 1383 strives to reduce that amount by 75 percent by 2025, the target date for full implementation of the law.
The bill’s overarching purpose is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, like methane, a major contributor to global warming and 28 times more potent (and destructive) than carbon dioxide.
“If we can save the planet with one more trip to the garbage can, I’m all for it,” said Pleasant Hill Mayor Michael Harris.
Compliance with SB 1383 will be determined by how jurisdictions implement programs that include organic waste collection, processing and diversion; use recycled organics products like compost and biofuel; and edible food recovery. The regulations require both individual jurisdictions and state agency CalRecycle to conduct enforcement.
Related story: Organics Recycling Law Takes Effect in Concord
Pamela Michael
Pamela Michael is a writer and communications specialist who has lived in Curry Canyon for twenty years.