Organic Waste Disposal (SB 1383)

In September 2016, Governor Brown signed into law Senate Bill 1383 (SB 1383), establishing methane emissions reduction targets in a statewide effort to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants in various sectors of California's economy. SB 1383 establishes targets to achieve a 75 percent reduction in the statewide disposal of organic waste from the 2014 level by 2025. The law grants CalRecycle the regulatory authority required to achieve the organic waste disposal reduction targets and establishes an additional target that not less than 20 percent of currently disposed of edible food is recovered for human consumption by 2025. SB 1383 went into effect on January 1, 2022. 

Senate Bill 1383 Impact 

Residents

In July of 2019, the City's waste hauler implemented a Citywide organic waste program. All single-family dwellings should have access to a three-cart system: green cart for organics, blue cart for recycling, and black cart for landfill. These colors match the statewide standard. If your household does not have one of these carts, or the cart lid is the wrong color, you may contact a representative from CR&R at (877) 728-0446 to assist you with becoming compliant with SB 1383.

Business and Commercial Properties

All Laguna Niguel businesses should have access to SB 1383-compliant recycling programs. Most businesses have a recycling container with the City's franchise waste hauler CR&R. Food-generating businesses must also have a green organic recycling cart or bin for the collection of food scraps.

Multi-Family Properties

All multi-family residents have access to a three-container system provided by CR&R: organics, recycling, and landfill. When organics recycling programs were implemented, CR&R provided residents with a small kitchen pail for the collection of food scraps. These food scraps can be discarded in any of CR&R's green carts at the property.

Edible Food Recovery Resources

To reduce unnecessary food waste and help address food insecurity, SB 1383 requires that by 2025, the state of California will recover and redistribute 20 percent of edible food that would have otherwise be sent to landfills. The law directs the following:

  • Jurisdictions must establish edible food recovery outreach and inspection programs, help connect mandated edible food generators with food recovery organizations/services, and ensure there is sufficient county-wide capacity for all the recovered edible food.
  • Mandated edible food generators must arrange to recover the maximum amount of their edible food that would otherwise go to landfills. They must establish contracts with food recovery organizations/services that will accept their edible food and keep records of all edible food recovery.
  • Food recovery organizations and services that work with mandated edible food generators must maintain and submit records of edible food recovery.

What is edible food? Edible food is food intended for people to eat, including food not sold because of appearance, age, freshness, grade, surplus, etc. Edible food includes, but is not limited to, prepared foods, packaged foods and produce. All edible food must meet the food safety requirements of the California Retail Food Code.

The City will post and maintain a list of edible food recovery organizations and services in Orange County. Tier 1 and Tier 2 edible food generators will be able to use this list to find a good match for their edible food. 

Edible food recovery organizations and services in Orange County

Senate Bill 1383 Frequently Asked Questions 

What is organic waste?

Organic waste includes food waste, landscape trimmings (leaves, grass, trimmings, branches, stumps less than 6" in diameter), non-hazardous wood waste, and food-soiled paper that is mixed in with food waste.

Why do we need to recycle organic waste?

Organic waste accounts for over 30% of the material in California's waste stream. Organic material cannot break down when buried in a landfill, as it would in nature or in a compost pile. Instead, it decomposes without oxygen, releasing methane gas into the atmosphere.

What is considered edible food waste?

Edible food waste is food that would otherwise go to waste from places such as restaurants, grocery stores, produce markets, or dining facilities. The food is edible but often not sellable. Products that are at or past their "sell-by" dates or are imperfect in any way, such as a bruised apple or day-old bread, are donated by grocery stores, food vendors, restaurants, and farmers' markets. Other times, the food is unblemished, but restaurants may have made or ordered too much or may have good pieces of food (such as scraps of fish or meat) that are byproducts of the process of preparing foods to cook and serve. Also, food manufacturers may donate products that marginally fail quality control or that have become short-dated.

What goes in the green container?  

Food Scraps: Cooked or raw meat, poultry and seafood (including bones), cheese, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, grains, pasta, eggshells, bread, coffee grounds, tea bags, tea leaves, baked goods, nuts, jelly, candy, snack foods, leftovers, spoiled food.

Food-Soiled Paper: Paper bags, paper napkins, paper towels, paper plates, paper cups, paper take-out containers and take-out boxes (with no plastic or wax coating, and with metal removed), coffee filters, tissues.

Natural Fibers: Popsicle sticks, sawdust, toothpicks, wooden chopsticks, untreated wood.

Will my rates go up?

No. When the City renegotiated its agreement in 2018, the programmatic requirements of SB 1383 were integrated into the franchise agreement. Therefore, the City's residents and businesses' rate adjustment in 2019 with the new franchise agreement's implementation was sufficient to cover the cost of providing these state-mandated programs.

Where does the collected organic waste go?

The collected organic waste is taken to CR&R's Regional Organics Anaerobic Recovery facility (ROAR) in Perris, California, where the organic waste is converted into renewable natural gas and used to fuel CR&R's collection fleet.  

How does the City know if I am properly sorting?

The City is required by SB 1383 to conduct residential, commercial, and multi-family route reviews annually. The City's franchise waste hauler CR&R will conduct lid-flips and observe materials in each of the three-container system. If recyclable materials are found in your trash container or trash is found in your recycling or organics container, this is called contamination. If contamination is found, CR&R will place on the container a hang tag outlining how to properly sort materials. CR&R will report instances of contamination to the City.

What happens if I don't participate?

SB 1383 requires the City to implement an enforcement mechanism for non-participating accounts. The City is taking an education-first approach in implementing the program and will issue a warning (Notice of Violation) before any fines are assessed, as required by state law.

Organics Recycling Update

On February 2, 2023, the City hosted an Organics Recycling Update hosted in partnership with CR&R Environmental Services.  A recording of the webinar can be found here. A list of frequently asked questions from the webinar can be found here. 

Senate Bill 1383 Mandatory Organics Recycling Complaints and Violations Report Form

  2. Complete the information below and submit your organics recycling complaint or alleged violation.
  9. Type of establishment/residence for which a complaint is being filed (if known):*
  13. Areas of concern, pertaining to organics (food waste/green waste) recycling:*

    *Tier 1 donors (supermarkets, grocery stores with facilities greater than 10,000 sq. ft., food service providers, food distributors, and wholesale food vendors) are required to send surplus food to food recovery organizations starting January 1, 2022.

    **Tier 2 donors (restaurants with facilities greater than 5,000 sq. ft. or 250+ seats, hotels with on-site food facility and 200+ rooms, health facilities with on-site food facility and 100+ beds, large venues/events, state agency cafeterias with facilities greater than 5,000 sq. ft. or 250+ seats, and local education agencies with on-site food facility) are required to send surplus food to food recovery organizations starting January 1, 2024.

  22. CONTACT INFORMATION

    OPTIONAL: If you provide your information below, a City of Laguna Niguel representative may contact you for follow-up questions regarding your complaint.

  33. Per SB 1383 regulation 14 CCR Section 18995.3, a jurisdiction shall commence an investigation within 90 days of receiving a complaint if the jurisdiction determines that the allegations, if true, would constitute a violation of this chapter. The jurisdiction may decline to investigate a complaint if, in its judgement, the investigation is unwarranted because the allegations are contrary to facts known to the jurisdiction.


    The identity of anyone reporting violations is confidential and protected under California Government Code Section 6250 et. Seq.

    34. Leave This Blank:

  36. This field is not part of the form submission.