Residential Food Waste Services

Food waste includes meat, bones, poultry, seafood, shells, dairy, eggs, pasta, grains, coffee grounds, fruits, vegetables, and other inedible and edible parts of food. 

When referring to SB 1383 requirements, organic waste include yard waste, food waste, and plant fibers such as paper and cardboard. All of these materials are currently recycled across the County in some capacity. Single-family homes have curbside yard waste collection service; AND existing state law, Assembly Bill 1826, requires large food-generating businesses such as restaurants and hotels and others to recycle food and yard waste. Paper and cardboard are also recycled citywide in curbside and commercial recycling programs. 

One thing to note: In the recycling business, the term “organic waste” or “organics” has a meaning different from the term “organic” in farming. In farming, an “organic” product is one grown without chemically formulated fertilizers, growth stimulants, antibiotics, or pesticides.

You can collect your food waste in a small container (pail with a lid or Tupperware) in your kitchen and store it on your countertop or under your sink. You can line your food waste container with a plastic bag, which can be tied off and placed in your yard waste container. You can also store your food waste in a bag in your freezer, which can help avoid odors for certain foods that are not meant to be left at room temperature.  

Bagged food waste needs to be tied off and placed into the yard waste container.  

NO. All food waste must be bagged and tied before being placed in the yard waste container. Food waste that is placed directly into the yard waste cart will contaminate the yard waste cart.

After collection, the bagged food waste will be separated at Gold Coast Recycling and Transfer Station, and sent for processing at local facilities. Material sent to these facilities must be clean and free of other debris as it will be processed and turned into organic fertilizer or renewable energy. Due to the need for clean organic material, commingled organic material (yard waste and food waste together) will not be accepted at this time.

 The decision to bag food waste at this time was not made without considerable debate and was selected based on lower cost of service and reduced environmental footprint. While the use of bags seems counterintuitive, one of the alternative approaches is adding a fourth cart dedicated to food waste only. A fourth cart would need a fourth truck route and additional drivers. This would mean additional emissions from the extra truck on the road and additional costs of service. 

The bagged food waste material will be placed into the existing yard waste container, separated at Gold Coast Recycling and Transfer Station, and sent for processing at local facilities. Material sent to these facilities must be clean and free of other debris as it will be processed and turned into organic fertilizer or renewable energy. Due to the need for clean organic material, commingled organic material (which is when yard waste and food waste are mixed together) will not be accepted at this local facility. 

Ultimately, we’re looking to develop a program where food waste and yard waste can be commingled with soiled paper and other bio-based materials. Harrison is preparing to open a state-of-the-art facility known as the Limoneira facility (currently in the permitting stages) that will be able to accept commingled material. When the Limoneira organics processing facility is complete, we will be able to improve our program and eliminate the need for bagging food waste. 

Harrison Industries, and its processing facility, Mountainview in Oxnard, both require the use of plastic bags to separate food waste, which need to be tied off and placed in the yard waste containers. Paper bags are not allowed, as food waste will leak through the paper bag and contaminate the yard waste. At Mountainview, the food waste bags will be opened to remove the food waste, and the empty bags will be landfilled. Mountainview does not have the ability to process bags that are labeled “compostable” and all empty food waste bags, even compostable bags, will be landfilled.  

The best option is to reuse any plastic bags that you already have, such as plastic bread bags, food packaging bags or plastic grocery bags, to collect your food waste.  

While the use of plastic may seem counterintuitive, this program complies with SB 1383, reduces the amount of organic material that is sent to the landfill, and reduces our methane emissions with the lowest impact on cost and space constraints for residents. 

In the future, we would like to move toward a circular program without plastic, where food waste and green waste can be commingled with soiled paper and other bio-based materials. When the Limoneira organics processing facility is complete, we will be able to improve our program and eliminate the need for bagging food waste.  

Once placed into the existing yard waste container, the bagged food waste material will be separated at Gold Coast Recycling and Transfer Station and sent for processing at the new Mountainview facility in Oxnard. Material sent to Mountainview must be clean and free of other debris as it will be processed and turned into organic fertilizer or renewable energy.

NO. Currently, our local processing facility, Mountainview in Oxnard, does not accept compostable foodware, such as compostable plates, cups, utensils or napkins. If these items are added to the bagged food waste or loose yard waste material, they will contaminate the material. While these items might be labeled “compostable,” they should be disposed of in the landfill.  

When the Limoneira organics processing facility is complete, we will be able to improve our program to include compostable foodware and other bio-based materials. We will publicize these changes as they happen.

Separating your food waste should not cause odor or attract pests any more than putting food scraps in your trash. The same materials are being collected, just in a different container.