AB 1826 requires businesses to recycle their organic waste. This includes both public and private businesses as well as multifamily complexes* or apartment buildings of five units or more. The date at which a business is required to begin recycling their organic waste depends on how much waste the business generates each week.

*Multifamily complexes must arrange for recycling services for the same material with the exception of food waste and food-soiled paper. Torrance Municipal Code includes all multifamily units in State recycling requirements.

The key deadlines for beginning organics recycling are:

April 1, 2016: Businesses that generate more than 8 cubic yards of organic waste per week must recycle organic waste.

January 1, 2017: Businesses that generate more than 4 cubic yards of organic waste per week must recycle organic waste.

January 1, 2019: Businesses that generate more than 4 cubic yards of solid waste per week must recycle organic waste.

January 1, 2021: Businesses that generate more than 2 cubic yards of solid waste per week must recycle organic waste.

Organic waste includes the following materials:

  • food waste
  • green waste and landscaping waste (leaves, grass, trimmings, branches and stumps)
  • nonhazardous wood waste
  • food-soiled paper waste that is mixed in with food waste (this does not include plastic-coated paper items such as paper cups)

How to recycle organic waste:

Most organic waste is recyclable through methods such as composting, mulching, and anaerobic digestion. Organic recycling services often accept a wide variety of different types of organic waste. The requirement to recycle organic waste can be met by taking one or any combination of the following actions:

  1. Source-separate organic waste from other waste and subscribe to an organic waste recycling service that specifically includes collection and recycling of organic waste.
  2. Recycle organic waste onsite, or self-haul organic waste for organic recycling.
  3. Subscribe to an organic waste recycling service that includes mixed waste processing that specifically recycles organic waste.
  4. Sell or donate the generated organic waste.

You can contact your current refuse and/or recycling hauler for assistance, or select from any of the licensed haulers operating in Torrance.

What is the purpose of this law?

Recyclable organic waste accounts for about 40% of all the materials Californians send to landfills each year. The new organic recycling requirements within AB 1826 will help the state meet its goal to recycle 75 percent of its waste by 2020.

Questions?

CalRecycle offers a complete set of answers to Frequently Asked Questions about AB 1826, including information about exemptions, compliance and reporting. For additional questions, contact City of Torrance Public Works at (310) 781-6900 or send an email to [email protected].