Los Angeles City Council votes to expand residential organic waste collection program

To comply with a state law requiring organic waste to be reduced by 75% by 2025, the Los Angeles City Council passed a motion Wednesday aimed at expanding its residential organics collection program from the current 18,000 customers to 750,000 customers by Dec. 31.

Senate Bill 1383 was adopted in 2016 as an effort to reduce emissions. CalRecycle, the state’s recycling and waste regulatory agency, can issue escalating penalties for non-compliance.

The council will consider directing the Bureau of Sanitation to expand the residential organics collection program from 18,000 customers to 40,000 by July 1 and then to 750,000 customers by Dec. 31.

Starting in 2022, all jurisdictions are required to provide organic waste collection services and recycle the organic material.

According to a motion that initiated the vote, California landfills are the state’s third-largest source of generated methane gas, and about half of the items dumped into the landfills are organic waste such as food scraps, yard trimmings, paper and cardboard.

That motion was introduced by Councilmen Mitch O’Farrell and Paul Koretz on Oct. 1 to have the Bureau of Sanitation report on steps necessary to comply with the state’s law.