City of Calipatria CA : Mandatory Recycling Law - AB 1826

California Recycling Laws: Assembly Bill 1826 requires businesses to separate their organics (food scraps and yard trimmings) for recycling. This law consists of a tiered system starting April 1, 2016 with businesses generating 8 cubic yards of organic waste per week and decreasing to 4 cubic yards of organic waste per week January 1, 2017. Organics is defined as wood, green, and food waste. Participating in a CR&R recycling program will assist your business in meeting these recycling requirements. Additional information is available from the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery.

Similar to AB 341, this mandatory state requirement consists of a tiered system for compliance with organic recycling for businesses and multi-family residential complexes. Businesses and multi-family complexes are required to separate their food scraps and green waste for recycling.

Initially, this applies to:

• Businesses in the food industry (grocery stores, restaurants, commissaries)
• Multi-family complexes with five or more units that have green waste or yard trimmings

Timeline milestones for both Commercial and Multifamily (5+units) customers: • April 1, 2016 - 8 cubic yard organics generators • January 1, 2017 - 4 cubic yard organics generators • January 1, 2019 - 4 cubic yard MSW generators After January 1, 2019, all businesses that generate four cubic yards or more of commercial solid waste per week, regardless of type, must arrange for organic waste recycling services. Customers who would like more information about AB 1826 can visit the State's website: www.calrecycle.ca.gov

Organic recycling mandates are triggered by timelines and quantities. Here are the start dates:

• April 1, 2016 - generators of 8 or more cubic yards of organic waste per week
• January 1, 2017 - generators of 4 or more cubic yards of organic waste per week
• January 1, 2019 - generators of 4 or more cubic yards of solid waste per week
• January 1, 2020 - generators of 2 or more cubic yards of solid waste per week (pending statewide progress)

Ways your business or multi-family complex can comply with law:

Business Organic Waste

• Food Donation: Donate food to a food bank or other food rescue organization. Source reduction through food donation is an acceptable program and helps fight hunger in the community.
• Landscaping services: If you contract with a landscape company, have them take your green waste to a composting/recycling facility.
• Subscribe to organics services: Food and green waste services are expanding to meet the new state requirements. Check to see if this service is now available in your area.

Multi-family Complex Organic Waste

• Landscaping services: If you contract with a landscape company, have them take your green waste to a composting/recycling facility.
• On-site processing: Through chipping or composting and reuse on-site.
• Subscribe to green waste services: Green waste services are expanding to meet the new state requirements. Check to see if this service is now available in your area.

California requires mandatory organics recycling.

Businesses generating 8 cubic yards of organic waste per week, must recycle their organic waste. The law includes schools, hospitals, stores, restaurants, for-profit or nonprofit organizations, as well as residential dwellings with 5+ units. These new requirements will be phased in over several years and will help California recycle 75 percent of its generated waste by 2020.

Why is this necessary?

Landfill gas created by decomposing organic wastes is a significant source of greenhouse gas. This law helps California achieve its aggressive recycling and greenhouse gas emission goals and address climate change. Despite the state's robust and traditional recycling infrastructure, organic materials (yard trimmings, food scraps and soiled paper) make up 41% of the remaining waste stream. Redirecting these resources to composting and digesting operations, will save landfill space, generate energy, reduce emissions, and restore soils.

What can you do?

• Businesses can meet the mandatory requirements through any of the following:
• Separate organic wastes and contract a waste recycling service to collect and recycle organics.
• Recycle organics on site, or haul organics off site for processing.
• Subscribe to a waste recycling service that separates organics from mixed waste and recycles the organics.

Mandatory Commercial Organics Recycling Law

In 2014, AB 1826 Chesbro (Chapter 727, Statutes of 2014) was signed into law, requiring businesses, including apartment communities/multi-family housing with 5 or more units, to recycle organic waste based on the amount of waste generated each week.* Organic waste includes food waste, green waste, landscape and pruning waste, nonhazardous wood waste, and food- soiled paper.

• Businesses and multi-family housing units generating 8 cubic yards or more of organic waste per week were required to have organics recycling in place by April 1, 2016.
• Businesses and multi-family housing units generating 4 cubic yards of organic waste per week must arrange to recycle their organics by January 1, 2017.
• Businesses and multi- family housing units generating 4 cubic yards of solid waste per week must arrange to recycle their organics by January 1, 2019.

*Note: Multi-family housing units are not required to have a food waste diversion program, but must recycle green/landscaping waste.