As the Legislature wraps up the 2023-24 legislative session, several important organic waste related bills continue to edge closer to the finish line.   

CalRecycle’s SB 1383 regulations impose many requirements on local agencies and don’t always provide enough flexibility to accommodate differing local needs.  Several local government-sponsored and supported measures seek to increase flexibility for local implementation efforts and expedite permitting of smaller compost facilities. 

RCRC’s sponsored AB 2902 (Wood, D-Healdsburg) makes several changes to CalRecycle’s SB 1383 organic waste regulations, including: 

  • Extending the existing rural exemption for the state’s 19 counties with fewer than 70,000 residents (and cities within those counties).  Those 19 counties are Lake, San Benito, Tehama, Tuolumne, Calaveras, Siskiyou, Amador, Lassen, Glenn, Del Norte, Colusa, Inyo, Plumas, Mariposa, Trinity, Mono, Modoc, Sierra, and Alpine.   

  • Providing flexibility for jurisdictions with nearby bear populations to use bear boxes with lid colors that don’t meet the regulatory requirements.   

  • Expanding CalRecycle’s existing grant program to fund the purchase and distribution of bear bins to residents.   

  • Adjusting local procurement targets to exclude residents covered by low-population and elevation waivers. 

  • Charging CalRecycle with increasing local benefits from edible food recovery programs, sustaining the use of organics for local animal feed practices, promoting healthy soils programs, and educating local governments and the solid waste industry about state financial assistance available for reducing landfill emissions. 

  • Clarifying existing caselaw that local compost/mulch giveaways and rebates are not a gift of public funds. 

  • Reducing the frequency of CalRecycle’s review of local AB 939 solid waste diversion programs. 

Several other components of AB 2902 that would have assisted medium-sized counties and promoted community composting programs were removed in the Senate Appropriations Committee.  See RCRC’s latest letter of support here. 

AB 2346 (Lee, D-San Jose) is sponsored by StopWaste (Alameda County Waste Management Authority) and provides local governments with several other pathways to comply with CalRecycle’s SB 1383 procurement requirements, including procuring compost from vermicomposting operations, mulch from tree trimming operations, and edible food recovery efforts.  AB 2346 also provides procurement credit for investments in producing and using recycled organic materials.  Finally, the bill gives local governments flexibility to meet either annual or five-year procurement targets, among other things.  Like AB 2902, AB 2346 awaits consideration on the Senate Floor. 

SB 972 (Min, D- Irvine) is sponsored by the League of California cities and seeks to formalize CalRecycle technical assistance program through which it helps local governments comply with SB 1383’s requirements.   The bill also requires CalRecycle to consider providing technical assistance before exercising enforcement authority.  SB 972 awaits consideration on the Assembly Floor   

SB 1046 (Laird, D-Santa Cruz)  requires CalRecycle to develop a programmatic environmental impact report for small and medium-sized organic waste compost facilities, thereby simplifying the process for local permitting of those facilities and reducing delays related to environmental review and litigation.  SB 1046 awaits a concurrence vote on the Senate Floor.   

RCRC continues to engage in discussions with CalRecycle about many other potential adjustments to the SB 1383 regulations outside of what is contemplated in these bills, with the intent to increase local flexibility, reduce compliance challenges, and promote local innovation. 

For more information, please contact RCRC Senior Policy Advocate John Kennedy.