Mandatory Commercial Organics Recycling (MORe)
Click here for a copy of the El Dorado County MORe Brochure
Introduction and Background:
In October of 2014 Governor Brown signed
AB 1826 Chesbro (Chapter 727, Statutes of 2014), requiring businesses to recycle their organic waste on and after April 1, 2016, depending on the amount of waste they generate per week. This law also requires that on and after January 1, 2016, local jurisdictions across the state implement an organic waste recycling program to divert organic waste generated by businesses, including multifamily residential dwellings that consist of five or more units (please note, however, that, multifamily dwellings are not required to have a food waste diversion
program). Organic waste (also referred to as organics throughout this resource) means food waste, green waste, landscape and pruning waste, non-hazardous wood waste, and food-soiled paper waste that is mixed in with food waste. This law phases in the mandatory
recycling of commercial organics over time. The minimum threshold of organic waste generation by businesses decreases over time, which means that an increasingly greater proportion of the commercial sector will be required to comply.
Key Elements of the Law:
Why Organics? Mandatory recycling of organic waste is the next step toward achieving California’s aggressive recycling and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission goals. California disposes approximately 30 million tons of waste in landfills each year, of which more than 30 percent could be used for compost
or mulch
(see the 2014 Waste Characterization Study). Organic waste such as green materials and food materials are recyclable through composting and mulching, and through anaerobic digestion, which can produce renewable energy and fuel. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from the decomposition of
organic wastes in landfills have been identified as a significant source of emissions contributing to global climate change. Reducing the amount of organic materials sent to landfills and increasing the production of compost and mulch are part of the
AB 32 (California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006) Scoping Planand the
El Dorado County Solid Waste Management Plan. For more information on the connection between the waste sector and California’s GHG emission reduction goals, please see
CalRecycle’s Climate Change page.
Implementation Dates and Thresholds:
The law phases in the requirements on businesses, including multifamily residential dwellings that consist of five or more units,* over time based on the amount and type of waste the business produces on a weekly basis, with full implementation realized in 2019. Additionally, the law
contains a 2020 trigger that will increase the scope of affected businesses, if waste reduction targets are not met. The implementation schedule is as follows:
- January 1, 2016: Local jurisdictions must have an organic waste recycling program in place. Jurisdictions must conduct outreach, education to inform businesses how to recycle organic waste in the jurisdiction, and monitoring to identify those not recycling and inform them of the law and how to recycle organic waste.
- April 1, 2016: Businesses that generate eight cubic yards of organic waste per week must arrange for organic waste recycling services.
- January 1, 2017: Businesses that generate four cubic yards of organic waste per week must arrange for organic waste recycling services.
- January 1, 2019: Businesses that generate four cubic yards or more of commercial solid waste per week must arrange for organic waste recycling services.
- Fall 2020: CalRecycle will conduct formal reviews of each jurisdiction to see how well the organics recycling program is going and how much waste is being diverted from going to a landfill.
- Summer/Fall 2021: If CalRecycle determines that the statewide disposal of organic waste in 2020 has not been reduced by 50 percent of the level of disposal during 2014; the organic recycling requirements on businesses will expand to cover businesses that generate two cubic yards or more of commercial solid waste per
week.
*Note: Multifamily dwellings are not required to have a food waste diversion program.
Related Resources:
CalRecycle offers many resources on their
Mandatory Commercial Organics Recycling webpage. Click the embedded link above to go to that page or click the links below to get to their specific resources: