AB 341 requires businesses (public and private) to implement a recycling program if they are generating four cubic yards or more of solid waste per week as of July 1, 2012. If you aren’t sure if you generate more than four cubic yards of solid waste, check with your hauler.

AB 341 also requires multifamily complexes or apartment buildings of five units or more to implement a recycling program, regardless of how much waste they generate. The Torrance Municipal Code requires 3 and 4 unit buildings to recycle as well.

Implementing a recycling program includes activities that recycle, reuse or compost.

Who is required to recycle?

1. Businesses, business complexes, and public entities that have the capacity to create 4 cubic yards or more of solid waste per week.
2. Owners/managers of a multi-family dwelling of 3 units or more.

How do I sign up for service, and what materials will they take for recycling?

Owners and managers of affected properties can contact a permitted hauler to subscribe to recycling services, or haul their recyclables themselves.

The types of materials you can recycle may depend on what recyclable items you have and what the permitted hauler accepts. Contact a permitted hauler for more details. If you have specialized materials for recycling, Visit LA County Public Works Smart Business Recycling to search site for recyclers of a variety of materials.

What steps are required to comply?

1. Separating your recyclable material from your trash and taking them to a recycling center or subscribing to a service for the collection of recyclables by a permitted hauler or recycler.
2. Subscribing for service with a permitted hauler who collects all your waste together and then separates the recyclables from the trash at a different site.

What if I am a business that has occasional special events that generate large amounts of waste? Am I subject to the mandatory commercial recycling?

During the time period that your site generates and subscribes to a weekly service of 4 cubic yards of solid waste, the business will need to recycle.

How do I know if I have the capacity to collect 4 cubic yards or more a week?

If your property has bins that provide an equivalent capacity, you are required to recycle (i.e., if you have a 3 cubic yard bin, and it is picked up twice a week, then you are required to recycle). Check your current trash hauling bill or call your hauler if you are not sure of your bin size.

What is the purpose of this law?

1. To reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by diverting commercial solid waste through recycling efforts, and to expand the opportunity for additional recycling services and recycling manufacturing facilities in California.
2. To reduce methane emissions at landfills from the decomposition of organic materials.
3. To meet the statewide goal of 75% solid waste diversion by 2020.
4. According to 2008 Statewide Waste Characterization data, the commercial sector generates nearly three-fourths of the solid waste in California. Most of the commercial sector waste disposed of in landfills is recyclable.

What are the benefits of this law?

1. The more recyclable materials a business can divert from its trash, the greater the potential savings and/or reduction in costs (i.e., monthly trash bill).
2. Recycling can help reduce emissions of methane, air toxins, and other pollutants from landfills.
3. Recycling frees up space in landfills that have a limited capacity and saves natural resources.
4. The more businesses and residents recycle, the greater the ability for the City of Torrance to meet its mandated diversion goals.

Questions?

CalRecycle offers a complete set of answers to Frequently Asked Questions about AB 341, including information about reporting, compliance and enforcement. For additional questions, contact City of Torrance Public Works at (310) 781-6900 or send an email to [email protected].