Good News for residents!  You don’t need to do anything different when it comes to garbage, recycling and yard trimmings. The City of Rocklin will continue to use the same two bins (one for waste and recycling and one for green waste), and the separating will be handled at the local Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).  Visit www.placerrecycles.com for more information.

WHAT IS SB 1383?

SB 1383 is a state law that was passed in 2014 which established new organic waste recycling and surplus food recovery targets.  SB 1383 requires the state to achieve a 50 percent reduction of the statewide disposal of organic waste from the 2014 level by 2022 and a 75 percent reduction by 2025 reducing emissions of methane from food and organic waste in landfills.  It also requires the state to rescue at least 20% of currently disposed surplus edible food by 2025, thus keeping it out of our landfills. Methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gasses and a major contributor to climate change.  Mandatory recycling of organic waste is the next step toward achieving California’s aggressive recycling and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission goals.  California disposes of approximately 20 million tons of waste in landfills each year, of which more than 30 percent could be used for compost or mulch.

What is Organic Waste and Where Does it Go?

Organic waste is any solid food (no liquids) and uncoated paper products.  Solid food includes coffee grounds, food peelings from vegetables, eggshells, meat, and fishy, while uncoated paper products include items such as paper napkins and paper towels, coffee filters, tea bags, paper cups, and paper plates.

Organic waste together with your recyclables and household trash can be placed into your normal trash bin.  It will then be sorted at the Materials Recovery Facility using machinery, robotics, and humans. This bin is your gray bin.

Green waste such as grass clippings, leaves, and pruning less than 2 feet long and 2 inches in diameter will continue to be placed in your green waste bin. This bin is your green bin.

HOW CAN YOU HELP AT HOME?

Everyone has a role in saving resources and wasting less food.  Here are a few tips and ideas of ways to help reduce Organic waste:

• Plan your meals for the week before you go shopping and buy only the items needed to prepare those meals. Make a shopping list with weekly meals in mind and save money while preventing food waste.
• Don’t waste leftovers, freeze them for future use in new meals.
• If you shop in bulk, separate large portions into smaller portions before freezing, so you can defrost only the portion you will need in your meal preparation.
• Set up a home compost system. Learn how to compost at home and the benefits it can bring to your garden. Teabags, spoiled foods, paper napkins, dead leaves, and fruit peels can be composted instead of tossed in the trash. Put your unused food to work by using it to grow new ingredients or for mulch in your yard.  For more information on at home composting please visit calrecycle.ca.gov.

By working together, we can achieve California’s recycling and recovery goals. By diverting organic material away from landfills we can greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated by the decomposition of organic waste.

For more information, please visit Placer Recycles page about Organics and SB 1383.