State Senate Bill (SB) 1383 is groundbreaking California legislation designed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, by mandating the diversion of organic waste from landfill!  As of January 1, 2022, all Californians are required by law to divert food scraps, landscape debris, wood, paper and cardboard from landfills.

Currently, 20% of the atmospheric methane is attributed to emissions caused by landfilling organic waste.

• Methane is a super GHG with 84 times the heat trapping potential of carbon dioxide.
• Organic waste like food scraps, yard trimmings, paper, and cardboard currently make up 50% of the waste in California landfills!

By diverting organic waste from landfill, methane emissions will be significantly reduced.  Additionally, the byproducts of the composting process, compost and biofuel have additional environmental benefits.

• Nutrient-rich compost when applied to soil helps sequester GHGs, and increases the soil’s ability to produce food, support vegetation and retain water.
• Biofuel provides a renewable alternative to fossil fuels with fewer and less harmful emissions.

ORGANICS REQUIREMENT 

As of January 1, 2022, every West Sacramento business, and multifamily property, is required to subscribe to trash, recycling and organic waste recycling services unless determined by the City to be otherwise compliant or exempt.

SB 1383 also requires all businesses and multifamily properties to: 

• Place source separated organic waste, including food waste, in the designated organic waste container.
• Place source separated recyclable materials in the designated recycling container. 
• Place garbage in the designated garbage container. 
• Business and multifamily generators must not place contaminants (i.e., garbage) into the organic waste container or recycling container. 
• Periodically inspect organic materials, recycling, and garbage containers for contamination and inform employees if containers are contaminated and of the requirements to properly sort waste materials.
• Provide and allow access to adequate number, size, and location of internal waste collection containers with compliant labels or colors, consistent with the City’s collection service, for employees, contractors, tenants, and customers. 
• Annually provide information to employees, contractors, tenants, and customers about organic materials recovery requirements, and about proper sorting of source separated organic materials and source separated recyclable materials. 
• Provide information to new tenants within 14 days of occupation of the premises.
• Provide or arrange access for the City or its representative to access their properties during all inspections to confirm compliance. 
• Accommodate and cooperate with the City and/ or hauler’s contamination monitoring program.
  

 ENFORCEMENT

Under the new law, the City is required to adopt an enforcement ordinance and conduct compliance inspections. Businesses who fail to recycle their organic waste will face state mandated penalties for non-compliance. 

BACKGROUND

Senate Bill (SB) 1383 is groundbreaking California legislation designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, help feed the food insecure and capture carbon in the soil while also restoring its nutrient content and ability to grow food! This will all be accomplished by mandating the diversion of organic waste from the landfill!  

In the past several years, California has experienced unprecedented wildfires and significant periods of drought that have been attributed to climate change and the increases in the amount of greenhouse gasses (GHG) in the earth’s atmosphere. Without immediate action to reduce GHG emissions, extreme weather events are projected to become more common and severe, making the planet less hospitable for existing and future generations.

EDIBLE FOOD RECOVERY

TIER 1 GENERATORS

As of January 1, 2022, SB 1383 regulations require businesses identified as Tier 1 Generators to donate edible food that would otherwise be landfilled. Tier 1 Generators are identified as:

• Grocery stores with greater than 10,000 square feet of floor space
• Food distributors
• Wholesale food vendors

To protect food recipients, only food that meets the state’s strict food safety standards is eligible for donation. To protect food donors from liability associated with food donations made in good faith, there are both federal and state Good Samaritan food donation laws. These federal and state protections allow businesses to donate surplus edible foods without fear of legal consequences. 

Tier 1 Generators are required to:

• Donate the maximum amount of your surplus edible food to a food rescue organization
• Possess a contract or a written agreement with one or more food recovery organization to ensure the maximum amount of edible food is recovered to feed the food insecure
• Provide food donation records to regulatory authorities during compliance inspections
• Maintain records of food donation activities, including:
  • Donation deliveries and/or collections schedules
  • Pounds of food donated each month
  • Types of food donated to each food recovery organization

TIER 2 GENERATORS 

A second category of edible food generators, called Tier 2 Generators, include:

• Hotels with onsite food facilities and 200 plus rooms
• Health facilities with onsite food facilities and 100 or more beds
• Restaurants and Cafeterias equal to or greater than 5,000 square feet in size or with 250 or more seats
• Large venues, such as Sutter Health Park
• Local Education Agencies with on-site food facilities

Tier 2 generators are expected to have more prepared foods than tier 1 generators.  Because it can be logistically more challenging to redistribute prepared foods in a safe and timely manner, Tier 2 generators have until January 1, 2024 to comply, which will allow additional time to develop new prepared food rescue infrastructure.     

To learn more about the SB 1383 edible food recovery requirements for businesses visit:  www.calrecycle.ca.gov/organics/slcp/foodrecovery.

Edible food generators may contract with any food recovery organization or organizations to donate excess edible food provided the agreement meets the regulatory requirements. The City of West Sacramento has partnered with the Cities and County of Yolo to fund and expand the food recovery capacity within Yolo County.

WEST SACRAMENTO FOOD RECOVERY ORGANIZATIONS

Mercy Coalition of West Sacramento, PO Box 2060, West Sacramento, CA 95691 

Holy Cross Church Food Locker, 1321 Anna St, West Sacramento, CA 95605, (916) 373-3318

Trinity Presbyterian Church “Out of the Box” Food Pantry, 1500 Park Blvd, West Sacramento, CA 95691, (916) 371-5875 

West Sacramento Baptist Church, 2124 Michigan Blvd, West Sacramento, CA 95691, (916) 371-2111

INDOOR BIN REQUIREMENTS

Assembly Bill (AB) 827 is an additional requirement for businesses that provide customers with front-of-house waste receptacles for waste generated from products purchased and consumed onsite. 

Recycling and organics waste receptacles are required to be adjacent to the trash receptacles. Trash, recycling, and organics receptacles are required to be clearly labeled and waste sorting instructions must be present. The City offers recycling and organics bins, bin labels and waste sorting signage to help you comply. Call us today at (916) 617-4590 if you would like assistance with or have questions about meeting this requirement.

For additional information about commercial waste services, click here. 

THE CITY IS HERE TO HELP!

Whether or not you are a long-time recycler or you are just getting started, the City is here to help.  The City offers a variety of services and tools to help you set up a successful recycling program. 

These services and tools include new waste sorting signage to help educate your customers and staff, color coded interior recycling and organics recycling collection bins, bin labels and organic recycling bin liners, training materials and staff training assistance.  These services and tools are included with your waste services at no additional cost. So, why not take advantage of them? 

Call the City today to learn more and get started at (916) 617-4590.  Email us at Recycle@CityofWestSacramento.org and visit us online at WestSacRecycles.org. 

Residents are now required to divert their food waste from the landfill. Start reducing your methane footprint today by putting all food scraps, food soiled paper towels and napkins, soiled pizza boxes along with your landscape debris in your curbside organics (brown lid) cart. Put clean paper and cardboard in your recycling cart along with other recyclables.  (Please note: plastic coated paper like milk cartons, hot cups and soup boxes are not recyclable or compostable and should be disposed of in the curbside trash cart.) 

To help you set aside food scraps, Waste Management (WM) is offering free kitchen countertop food scrap collection containers. Call WM today at 866-844-1508 to request yours.

For more information about your residential curbside service, click here.

As of January 1, 2022, every West Sacramento multifamily property is required to subscribe and provide trash, recycling and organic waste recycling services to their residents and staff. 

SB 1383 requires residents of multifamily properties to:

Place source separated organic waste, including food waste, in the designated organic waste container.

Place source separated recyclable materials in the designated recycling container. 

Place trash in the designated trash container.

SB 1383 requires property managers to:  

Provide and allow access to adequate number, size, and location of waste collection containers with compliant labels or colors, consistent with the City’s collection service, for employees and residents.

Annually provide information to employees and residents about organic materials recovery requirements, and about proper sorting of source separated organic materials and source separated recyclable materials.

Provide information to new residents within 14 days of occupation of the premises.

Periodically inspect organic, recycling, and trash containers for contamination and inform residents about the requirements to properly sort waste materials.

Provide or arrange access for the City or its representative to access their properties during all inspections to confirm compliance.

Accommodate and cooperate with the City and/ or hauler’s contamination monitoring program.

ENFORCEMENT

Under the new law, the City is required to adopt an enforcement ordinance and conduct compliance inspections. Properties that fail to recycle their organic waste will face state mandated penalties for non-compliance. If you manage a multifamily property and don't currently have a food waste collection program, call Waste Management at (866) 844-1058 to add the service. There is no additional cost for adding organics services and recycling service, and doing so will ensure your compliance with State law and City municipal code.

For additional information about commercial waste services, click here.