Imperial Valley Resource Management
Agency

Assembly Bill 341(AB-341) is designed to help meet California’s recycling goal of 75% by the year 2020. AB-341 requires all commercial businesses and public entities that generate 4 cubic yards or more of waste per week to have a recycling program in place. In addition, multi-family apartments with five or more units are also required to form a recycling program.

Not only does AB-341 ensure that businesses will refrain from disposing of recyclables in landfills, but it will also contribute to Sacramento County’s economy. The Department of Resources, Recycling, and Recovery (Cal Recycle) estimate that local jurisdictions, schools, and businesses will save $40 million to $60 million per year from 2012-2020, due to lower recycling versus disposal costs. A higher volume of recyclables will also create manufacturing and recycling jobs and help contribute to California’s competitiveness.

To comply with the new law, Waste Management is here as a resource for you. Please contact us at (209) 369-8274 or (916) 387-1400 to go over what recycling options are available for you.
Adding recyclables collection may help you save money on your trash bill.

To learn more about California's AB 341 law visit https://calrecycle.ca.gov/Recycle/Commercial/

California state law requires each jurisdiction in California to divert at least 50% of its waste stream away from landfills either through waste reduction, recycling, or other means. AB 939 also established an integrated framework for program implementation, solid waste planning, and solid waste facility and landfill compliance.

To learn more about California’s AB939 enforcement visit https://calrecycle.ca.gov/lgcentral/enforcement/

As part of California’s recycling and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission goals, businesses will be required to collect yard trimmings, food scraps, and food-soiled paper for composting, effective April 1, 2016. Multifamily buildings with five or more units will be required to collect yard trimmings, effective April 1, 2016. These organic materials account for nearly one-third of the approximately 30 million tons of waste destined for California’s landfills each year. Diverting organics from landfills for processing into compost and mulch reduces landfill GHG emissions and produces sustainable products that contribute to soil health, plant nutrition, water conservation, and carbon sequestration. Mandatory commercial organics recycling helps to meet the goals of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act, AB 32.

To learn more about California's AB 1826 law visit https://calrecycle.ca.gov/Recycle/Commercial/Organics/

California’s existing law, the Medical Waste Management Act administered by the State Department of Public Health, regulates the management and handling of medical waste, as defined. Existing regulations authorize pharmacies, hospitals, or clinics with onsite pharmacies, distributors, and reverse distributors licensed by the California State Board of Pharmacy to offer, subject to prescribed requirements, specified prescription drug take-back services through collection receptacles or mail-back envelopes or packages to provide options for the public to discard unwanted, unused, or outdated prescription drugs.

To learn more about California’s SB212 law visit https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB212

The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, which is administered by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, requires each city, county, and regional agency, if any, to develop a source reduction and recycling element of an integrated waste management plan containing specified components. Those entities are required to divert, from disposal or transformation, 50% of the solid waste through source reduction, recycling, and composting subject to the element, except as specified. A city, county, or regional agency is required to submit an annual report to the board summarizing its progress in reducing solid waste. Existing law requires the board to review, at least once every 2 years, a jurisdiction’s source reduction and recycling element and household hazardous waste element. The board is required to issue an order of compliance if the board finds that a jurisdiction has failed to implement its source reduction and recycling element or its household hazardous waste element, pursuant to a specified procedure. If, after issuing an order of compliance, the Board finds the city, county, or regional agency has failed to make a good faith effort to implement those elements, the Board is authorized to impose administrative civil penalties upon the city, county, or regional agency.

This bill would define the terms “diversion program,” “jurisdiction,” and “multicounty regional agency,” for purposes of the act and would revise the definitions of the terms “rural city” and “rural county.” The bill would delete the condition that the solid waste subject to source reduction, recycling, and composting under these provisions be diverted from landfill disposal or transformation.

To learn more about California’s SB1016 visit https://calrecycle.ca.gov/lgcentral/basics/percapitadsp/

Existing law, the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, which is administered by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, establishes an integrated waste management program. Existing law requires a city, county, or regional agency to submit an annual report to the board summarizing its progress in diverting solid waste from disposal. The report is required to include, among other things, specified information relevant to compliance with the solid waste diversion requirements.

This bill would additionally require that the report include a summary of progress made in the diversion of construction and demolition waste materials, including information on programs and ordinances implemented by the local government and quantitative data, where available. By imposing new requirements on local agencies concerning reporting requirements under the act, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

To learn more about California’s SB1374 law visit https://calrecycle.ca.gov/lgcentral/library/canddmodel/instruction/sb1374/

California’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction law, often called SB 1383, establishes methane reduction targets for California. California SB 1383 is a bill that sets goals to reduce the disposal of organic waste in landfills, including edible food. The bill’s purpose is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as methane, and address food insecurity in California. Aspects of this law ensure that food scraps are composted, and compost is purchased by cities. Composting, industrial uses, and animal feed are good environmental uses for inedible food or other organic material.  Landfilling organic waste is a significant source of local air quality pollutants, which can cause respiratory issues and hospitalizations for community members. Beyond this, we are seeing the effects of climate change in California with more severe and lengthy droughts, warmer temperatures that contribute to the increasing number of wildfires (also impacting air quality), bigger storms, and coastal erosion due to rising sea levels.

To address the environmental and health concerns of surplus edible food, this law requires that, statewide, 20% of edible food that would otherwise be disposed of in the garbage or compost be recovered for human consumption by 2025. This means surplus edible food will help feed Californians in need instead of decomposing in a landfill while emitting harmful greenhouse gases. The EPA recognizes feeding hungry people as the second-best strategy to prevent food waste and benefit the environment, society, and economy. (The number one strategy to reduce food waste is prevention. Learn more about how your business or organization can prevent food waste and save money with our Prevention Tips Resources (Outreach page link to organics)

To learn more about California’s AB1383 law visit https://calrecycle.ca.gov/organics/slcp/