Residential Food Waste Information
All residents are required to recycle their food waste. Find out in this section what you need to know about food recycling.
Commercial Food Waste Information
How will SB 1383 affect your day-to-day business needs? For tips and resources, find out more here.
SB 1383: California’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy
Harrison Industries launched a weekly curbside residential food waste recycling program in compliance with California Senate Bill 1383, on Jan. 1, 2022.
SB 1383 requires communities to immediately begin residential food waste recycling, on the road to reducing all organic waste landfill disposal by 75% of 2014 levels, by 2025. Passed in 2016, the law exists to keep landfills in California clear of food and other organic waste that damages the atmosphere as it decays and emits toxic methane gas.
Effective the first week of January, all Harrison residential customers are asked to use their existing residential yard/organics waste carts to also collect bagged food waste.
All of Harrison’s residential and commercial customers’ food and other organic waste will be recycled locally, at state-of-the-art facilities operated by Harrison’s community partner Agromin.
The Food Waste Problem
Millions of households discard large amounts of food without understanding the wasted resources involved and more importantly the long term consequences on landfills. Sending organic waste, including food waste, to a landfill is a big problem. In a landfill, organic waste undergoes anaerobic decomposition from the lack of oxygen, which generates methane. When released into the atmosphere, methane is roughly 25 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
Important to daily life, methane is the majority of the natural gas piped into our homes. With properly constructed landfills lined with a membrane designed to prevent the release of methane, there is an opportunity to capture the methane before it enters the atmosphere, and put the resource to use.
Almost a quarter of material sent to the landfill from residential homes is made up of food waste. Although half of that waste is inedible food scraps, the other half is preventable and edible food that could have been saved from going to waste. Even though it is challenging, preventing food waste at home is one of the best ways to live a more sustainable lifestyle.
Timeline for Implementation
2017-2019
Rulemaking & Regulations Process
CalRecycle will conduct informal workshops in 2017 and early 2018, initiate the informal rulemaking in 2018, and adopt the regulations in late 2018 or early 2019. Although the regulations will not take effect until 2022, adopting them in 2019 allows regulated entities approximately three years to plan and implement necessary budgetary, contractual, and other program changes. Jurisdictions, haulers, and generators should consider taking actions to implement programs to be in compliance with the regulations on Jan. 1, 2022.
Jan. 1, 2020
50% Reduction
No later than this date, the state must achieve a 50% reduction in the level of statewide disposal of organic waste from the 2014 level.
July 1, 2020
Measuring Progress
By this date, CalRecycle, in consultation with the Air Resources Board, must analyze the progress that the waste sector, state government and local governments have made in meeting the organic waste reduction targets for 2020 and 2025. If the department determines that significant progress has not been made in meeting the targets, CalRecycle may include incentives or additional requirements in the regulations to facilitate progress towards achieving the organic disposal reduction targets. The Department may also recommend to the Legislature revisions to the targets.
Jan. 1, 2022
Enforcement of SB 1383: Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy Begins
CalRecycle’s regulations to meet the organic waste reduction and the edible food recovery targets take effect. The
enforcements provisions, including penalties for noncompliance issued by the state, take effect.
Jan. 1, 2025
75% Reduction
By this date, the state must achieve a 75% reduction in the level of statewide disposal of organic waste from the 2014 level. In addition, not less than 20% of currently disposed edible food must be recovered for human consumption.
Resource Links
Cal Recycle
California’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy
Information on Statewide Mandatory Organic Waste Collection
SB 1383 Education and Outreach Resources
Organic Materials Management
Commercial Organics Recycling Guidelines
Final Regulations Text
City of Ventura Food Waste Prevention Portal
Free Food Waste Collection Pail for City of Ventura Residents
City of Ventura Commercial Organics Recycling Services and Waiver Application
City of Camarillo Trash/Recycling Services and Resources
Food Share Ventura County
Ventura County Public Works SB1383 Information