State’s new Residential Food Scrap Recycling Program

Waste Management, the City’s waste hauler, will host a Virtual Townhall at 6 pm on November 30 and December 16 regarding the new Residential Food Scrap Recycling Program rolling out on New Year’s Day.

Starting January 1, 2022, residents should begin placing food scraps like fruit and vegetable trimmings, eggshells, pasta, grains, coffee grounds, leftover inedible food, and expired food, along with their garden trimmings into the green-lidded container provided by Waste Management of Orange County. The materials will be collected on the same day as residents’ trash and recycling containers and transported to a facility for composting.

The food recycling program stems from California’s new Senate Bill 1383 (SB 1383), which requires residents across the state to participate in organics recycling. SB 1383 aims to reduce short-lived climate pollutants coming from local landfills from food rotting and emitting methane. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere, which is bad for the environment and climate. By collecting food scraps and yard waste for composting, experts say we can avoid some of these negative effects of sending these materials to landfill and create nutritious soil amendment in the process.

Don’t miss the chance to learn more information about the State-mandated program from Waste Management. The virtual meeting link will be live on November 30. No registration is required.