New compost requirements in San Mateo County

The law, Senate Bill 1383, aims for a 75% reduction in organic landfill waste by 2025. In the county, 71% of landfill-bound waste is organics that could be composted, according to a 2019 Civil Grand Jury report. Methane, the gas released from rotting organics, has 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide, and a quarter of the planet’s warming is driven by human activity-produced methane, according to the Environmental Defense Fund.

While the requirement will kick in Jan. 1, enforcement will not begin until 2024. The two-year period is viewed largely as an opportunity for outreach and education. Eventually, fines for non-compliance could range from $100 to $500.

Generally, residential organic waste services are bundled with landfill and recycling costs, meaning organic waste services pose no additional cost to those customers. Businesses, however, will need to pay for the added service.

A 64-gallon bin emptied once a week, a service suitable for many businesses, carries a fee under $50 per month via Recology, the waste remover servicing much of the county. Doug Button, CEO of South San Francisco Scavengers, which serves South San Francisco, Brisbane and Millbrae, pointed out that customers could mitigate increased costs by in turn reducing their landfill waste service.

The cost to properly process organic waste is roughly triple the cost of disposing trash in a landfill, and rate increases could ensue to cover increased participation, according to Recology.

Per Recology’s guidelines, compostables include food scraps, yard waste and soiled paper. Food can include fruit and vegetables, bread, meat, eggs and coffee grounds. Yard waste can include grass clippings, weeds and small sticks, and soiled paper can include paper towels and napkins, and uncoated paper plates or take-out cartons. Not allowed in composting bins are items like animal waste, lumber, larger branches, rocks, soil, plastics and metal.

Composting material can be converted to mulch, which can be used for landscaping. In addition to requiring composting, the law requires cities to purchase certain amounts of mulch depending on the city’s size, in accordance with expected larger amounts of the material produced.

SB 1383 will also require edible food recovery programs to be instituted in large restaurants, grocery stores and other businesses that potentially waste sizable amounts of food. The law seeks to increase edible food recovery by 20% by 2025. 

In Burlingame, roughly 70% of commercial and multi-unit residential customers are currently not enrolled in organic disposal services. In San Bruno, 86% of commercial customers are not enrolled and 45% of multi-unit residential customers are not enrolled. A Recology representative estimated roughly 45% of San Bruno businesses would be eligible for an exemption to the requirement.

corey@smdailyjournal.com

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