In 2016, Governor Brown signed a law to set strict standards for methane emissions in California to combat climate change. Food waste in landfills is one of California’s largest sources of methane, which is a super pollutant and has 84 times more warming potential than carbon dioxide. To tackle this problem, the law sets a strict goal to reduce food waste in landfills by 50% by 2020, and 75% by 2025. This means that all that food waste needs to be diverted from the regular landfill into organics recycling programs, such as composting or using scraps for animal feed. In order to meet this goal, the law states that organics collection is mandatory for all businesses and multifamily properties producing 4 cubic yards or more of garbage. This goes into effect on January 1, 2022.
The law also mandates that 20% of edible food be recovered to feed the hungry. This will ultimately be the responsibility of large supermarkets and other producers of edible food waste. This food should be donated to organizations that tackle food insecurity.
SCRR will continue to provide organics service to residences, businesses, and multifamily properties. For those who are not currently recycling organics, we can set up service and provide training or educational materials to help with the transition to mandated organics recycling.
Together we can reduce the effects of climate change and food insecurity by properly disposing of food waste.
