SB 1383

Short-lived Climate Pollutants:
Organic Waste Reductions

In September 2016, Governor Brown signed into law Senate Bill 1383 (SB 1383), establishing methane emissions reduction targets in a statewide effort to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants. In order to achieve the methane emissions reduction targets, SB 1383 also set targets to reduce the level of statewide organic waste disposal.

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 landfills.

SB 1383 addresses seven program elements, each with their own specific requirements:

Education and Outreach
SB 1383 regulations require the City to conduct specific outreach to residents and businesses on an annual basis. All outreach materials must be translated into multiple languages based on the most recent census data.
Organics and Recycling Collection
The primary requirement of SB 1383 is to ensure that all residents and businesses have access to recycling and organics collection. SB 1383 requires specific colors for waste collection containers: garbage containers must be gray or black, recycling containers must be blue, and organics containers must be green. All new containers must have sorting labels affixed to make it clear what materials are accepted or not accepted.
Capacity Planning
SB 1383 requires the City to collaborate with the County and other jurisdictions within the county to determine the necessary organic waste recycling and edible food recovery capacity needed to divert organic waste and edible food from the landfill as required under the regulations.
Contamination Monitoring
The regulations require waste audits to be conducted on each garbage, recycling, and organics collection route regularly to check containers for contamination and ensure that materials are being sorted correctly. Specific documentation, follow-up, and reporting is required for any contamination that is found.
Edible Food Recovery
The City must identify edible food generators that are required to implement edible food recovery programs, connect them with local food recovery organizations, provide annual outreach to the edible food generators about their requirements under SB 1383, and perform annual inspections to ensure they have contracts in place with edible food recovery organizations, and are keeping records of all recovered edible food.
Procurement
Beginning January 1, 2022, the City must annually procure a certain quantity of recovered organic waste products. Jurisdictions can fulfill their target by procuring any combination of eligible products such as compost, mulch, and renewable energy. The City is also required to purchase recycled-content paper products.
Enforcement
For the first time, the City is tasked with strictly enforcing the requirements of SB 1383. The regulations require the City to implement enforceable policies (i.e. municipal code ordinances) to ensure all residents and businesses comply with the requirements in SB 1383. Furthermore, the State now has the authority to financially penalize non-compliant jurisdictions up to $10,000 per day, per violation.

NEW Information & Downloads

Updated: July 19, 2021

Did You Know?

methane Methane is a heat-trapping gas 80 times more potent than carbon over an initial 20 year span.

Explore SB1383's impacts on residents, businesses, and the city below.

Residential Customers

In September 2016, Governor Brown signed into law Senate Bill 1383 (SB 1383), establishing methane emissions reduction targets in a statewide effort to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants.
LEARN MORE

Commercial Customers

Beginning January 1, 2022, commercial businesses and multifamily dwellings with five or more units will be required to recycle their organic waste.
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City Requirements

These changes are expansive and require significant coordination. The City of Vacaville and Recology Vacaville Solano are working together to develop an SB 1383 program(s) that will meet the numerous requirements of the law.
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Contact & Resources

City of Vacaville - Solid Waste & Recycling

1001 Allison Drive
Vacaville, CA 95687
(707) 469-6509
recycling@cityofvacaville.com

Recology Vacaville Solano

1 Town Square, Suite 200
Vacaville, CA 95688
(707) 448-2945
www.recology.com

For more information on SB 1383: