- Home
- Doing Business
- Commerical Recycling Law
Recycling LawS AB 341 & AB 1826 & SB 1383
Commercial Recycling Law AB 341
According to 2008 Statewide Waste Characterization data, the commercial sector generates nearly three fourths of the solid waste in California. Furthermore, much of the commercial sector waste disposed in landfills is readily recyclable. Increasing the recovery of recyclable materials will directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emissions. In particular, recycled materials can reduce the GHG emissions from multiple phases of product production; including extraction of raw materials, preprocessing and manufacturing.
Recovery of Recyclable Materials
Increasing the recovery of recyclable materials will directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emissions. In particular, recycled materials can reduce the GHG emissions from multiple phases of product production; including extraction of raw materials, preprocessing and manufacturing.
Benefit
A co-benefit of increased recycling is avoided methane emissions at landfills from the decomposition of organic materials. Use of composted organic materials also provides environmental benefits such as carbon storage in soils and reduced use of fertilizers, pesticides, and water.
Mandatory Commercial Recycling Adoption
Mandatory Commercial Recycling was one of the measures adopted in the Assembly Bill 32 Scoping Plan by the Air Resources Board (ARB) pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act (Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006). The Mandatory Commercial Recycling Measure focuses on increased commercial waste diversion as a method to reduce GHG emissions. It is designed to achieve a reduction in GHG emissions of 5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents.
To achieve the measure’s objective, an additional 2 to 3 million tons of materials annually will need to be recycled from the commercial sector by the year 2020 and beyond. The Regulation was adopted at CalRecycle’s January 17, 2012 Monthly Public Meeting. This regulation reflects the statutory provisions of AB 341 (Chapter 476, Statutes of 2011 [Chesbro, AB 341]) and provides additional procedural clarifications. The regulation is currently pending approval by the Office of Administrative Law.
Adoption
The Regulation was adopted at CalRecycle’s January 17, 2012 Monthly Public Meeting. This regulation reflects the statutory provisions of AB 341 (Chapter 476, Statutes of 2011 [Chesbro, AB 341]) and provides additional procedural clarifications. The regulation is was filed October 6, 2011 by the Office of Administrative Law.
Mandatory Commercial Organics Recycling Law AB 1826
In October 2014 Governor Brown signed AB 1826 Chesbro (Chapter 727, Statutes of 2014), requiring businesses to recycle their organic waste on and after April 1, 2016, depending on the amount of waste they generate per week. This law also requires that on and after January 1, 2016, local jurisdictions across the state implement an organic waste recycling program to divert organic waste generated by businesses, including multifamily residential dwellings that consist of five or more units ( please note, however, that multifamily dwellings are not required to have a food waste diversion program).
Organic waste (also referred to as organics throughout this resource) means:
- food waste
- food-soiled paper waste that is mixed in with food waste
- green waste
- landscape and pruning waste
- non-hazardous wood waste
This law phases in the mandatory recycling of commercial organics over time, while also offering an exemption process for rural counties. In particular, the minimum threshold of organic waste generation by businesses decreases over time, which means an increasingly greater proportion of the commercial sector will be required to comply.
Short-Lived Climate Pollutants (SLCP): Organic Waste Methane Emissions Reductions
In September 2016, Governor Brown signed into law SB 1383 (Lara, Chapter 395, Statues of 2016), establishing methane emissions reduction targets in a statewide effort to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCP) in various sectors of California’s economy. The new law codifies the California Air Resources Board’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction StrategyPDF downloadPDF download, established pursuant to SB 605 (Lara, Chapter 523, Statutes of 2014), to achieve reductions in the statewide emissions of short-lived climate pollutants. Actions to reduce short-lived climate pollutants are essential to address the many impacts of climate change on human health, especially in California’s most at-risk communities, and on the environment.
As it pertains to CalRecycle, SB 1383 establishes targets to achieve a 50 percent reduction in the level of the statewide disposal of organic waste from the 2014 level by 2020 and a 75 percent reduction by 2025. The law grants CalRecycle the regulatory authority required to achieve the organic waste disposal reduction targets and establishes an additional target that not less than 20 percent of currently disposed edible food is recovered for human consumption by 2025.
Methane emissions resulting from the decomposition of organic waste in landfills are a significant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions contributing to global climate change. Organic materials–including waste that can be readily prevented, recycled, or composted–account for a significant portion of California’s overall waste stream. Food waste alone accounts for approximately 17-18 percent of total landfill disposal. Increasing food waste prevention, encouraging edible food rescue, and expanding the composting and in-vessel digestion of organic waste throughout the state will help reduce methane emissions from organic waste disposed in California’s landfills. In addition, compost has numerous benefits including water conservation, improved soil health, and carbon sequestration. Anaerobic digestion produces biogas that can be used to create electricity or renewable transportation fuels. Food rescue has the added benefit of assisting Californians who are unable to secure adequate, healthy food by diverting edible food to food banks and pantries.
SB 1383 builds upon California’s leading commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution statewide. Governor Brown identified reductions of short-lived climate pollutant emissions, including methane emissions, as one of five key climate change strategy pillars necessary to meet California’s target to reduce GHG emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 as established in SB 32 (Pavley, Chapter 249, Statutes of 2016). SB 1383 will further support California’s efforts to achieve the statewide 75 percent recycling goal by 2020 established in AB 341 (Chesbro, Chapter 476, Statutes of 2011) and strengthen the implementation of mandatory commercial organics recycling established in AB 1826 (Chesbro, Chapter 727, Statutes of 2014).