What California’s New Compost Law Means For You

You’ve learned how to recycle. Now you’ll have to learn how to deal with “green waste.” That’s things like banana peels, egg shells, coffee grounds and other food scraps that you'd normally put in the trash.

Not any more. With the new year comes a new state law, one that requires California residents and businesses to separate food waste from other trash and recycling, and put it in the green bin for yard trimmings, instead of the trash can.

It’s the requirement of Senate Bill 1383, colloquially referred to as California’s compost law. The state legislature and then-Gov. Jerry Brown passed it in 2016 and it went into effect on Jan. 1, 2022.

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The program will be rolled out gradually, with the actual start date depending on the location of your home or business. You’ll get a notice from your local government about the specific requirements in your neighborhood.

It’s the biggest change to how California deals with waste since the state mandated recycling in the 1990s.

Keeping organic waste out of landfills helps reduce the super-pollutant methane, a greenhouse gas that is many times more potent than carbon dioxide.

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Jessica Langlois

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Reducing methane pollution

The landmark law aims to lower greenhouse gas emissions from landfills, and reduce waste in general. Organic waste makes up more than half of the stuff in landfills, and when it decomposes it creates methane, a greenhouse gas as much as 84 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.

“20% of California's methane pollution comes from landfills, so the fastest, simplest, easiest thing that every Californian can do to fight climate change is to simply change the way they dispose of organic waste,” said Rachel Wagoner, director of CalRecycle, the state agency overseeing the law’s rollout.

The goal is to reduce the amount of organic waste in landfills by 75% by 2025. If the state achieves that goal, emission reductions would be equivalent to taking about a million cars off the road for a year, Wagoner said.

The diverted waste will be used instead for things like compost to fertilize local parks and biogas to fuel trash trucks.

This is the end result of composting: Deep, dark and sweet smelling dirt that is perfect for gardening.

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Justin Sullivan

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Supermarket waste

Additionally, the new law requires supermarkets and other food sellers to keep unused food out of the landfill — they’ll be required to donate surplus, edible food to food banks. The regulations also require local governments to purchase the byproducts produced by that waste, such as compost and mulch.

“I've worked in environmental policy for over 20 years, and this is one of my most favorite topics,” Wagoner said. “I get to fight against pollution while at the same time taking something that would otherwise contaminate our planet and turn it into a resource.”

About 50% of local governments in California already have a fully operational program in place, Wagoner said. For example, San Francisco has been doing this since 2009. There will be some growing pains as jurisdictions improve and build out the infrastructure they need to do large-scale composting, she said.

In L.A., residents and businesses will start getting these notices in early 2022. Starting in 2024, you could be fined for disposing your organic waste improperly.

Here’s what you need to know:

What do I need to separate?

• All food including cooked meat, bones, fish and small amounts of grease. Once L.A. rolls out its curbside program, food and yard waste can be put in your green bins. 

Where do I store my kitchen scraps?

• L.A. county and city plan to distribute kitchen pails for residents to store food scraps. You can get your pail for free, just follow this link. You can also store them in any container in a freezer or on your countertop. (Clean frequently to avoid smells). This helpful city sanitation page offers lots of composting tips and suggestions, plus a 24-hour customer care number for any questions not answered.

Will my waste bills go up?

• Likely, yes. Most cities estimate rates will go up less than 20% over the next three years as the program gets up and running, according to a survey by the League of California Cities. Part of that increase in costs is due to the need to build or improve recycling and composting plants.

Editor's note: This story was first published in December 2021, just before the new law went into effect. But it continues to be popular with readers who struggle to carrying out composting at home. So, we have updated our story to include, among other things, tips from the sanitation department and details on getting free pails.