LOS ANGELES—To comply with a state law requiring organic waste to be reduced by 75 percent by 2025, the Los Angeles City Council passed a motion on March 9 aimed at expanding its residential organics collection program from the current 18,000 customers to 750,000 customers by Dec. 31, 2022.
Senate Bill 1383 was adopted in 2016 as an effort to reduce statewide methane emissions from decomposing organic waste—by diverting organic waste from landfills and increasing edible food recovery for people in need beginning January 1, 2022. CalRecycle, the state’s recycling and waste regulatory agency, can issue escalating penalties for non-compliant cities.
The Council will consider directing the Bureau of Sanitation to expand the residential organics collection program from 18,000 customers to 40,000 by July 1 and then to 750,000 customers by Dec. 31.
Starting in 2022, all jurisdictions are required to provide organic waste collection services and recycle the organic material.
According to a motion that initiated the vote, California landfills are the state’s third-largest source of generated methane gas, and about half of the items dumped into the landfills are organic waste, such as food scraps, yard trimmings, paper, and cardboard.
That motion was introduced by Councilmen Mitch O'Farrell and Paul Koretz on Oct. 1, 2021, to have the Bureau of Sanitation report on steps necessary to comply with the state’s law.
