According to Alex Oseguera, vice president and general manger of Central Valley Waste Management, AB 1826 is a state-mandated law requiring commercial businesses to subscribe to an organic waste recycling program. The law went into effect in 2016, requiring that businesses generating 8 cubic yards of organic waste per week arrange for organic waste recycling services. In 2017, the threshold dropped to 4 cubic yards of organic waste, but Waste Management’s analysis concluded that no customers in Lodi met the threshold, Oseguera said. By January 2019, the law will require businesses generating 4 cubic yards of solid waste per week to arrange for organic waste recycling services. According to Oseguera, 315 customers meet that threshold. By 2020, any commercial business generating 2 yards of solid waste may be required to arrange for organic waste recycling services, Oseguera said.
In order to meet the new requirements, Oseguera said, new rates for organic waste services will have to be developed. The rates will have to not only cover costs of providing the service but make sure that it discourages people from putting trash in the organics container, he said, because if organic waste is contaminated with trash, it can’t be used in compost. Compostable plastics cannot be placed in the organic container either, he said, because it takes a hundred years to break down. Waste Management will submit a program and rate proposal for the council’s consideration and approval in the third quarter of 2018. They will also send letters and make follow up phone calls to all customers that meet the threshold in the third and fourth quarters of 2018. In preparation of these changes to the law, Waste Management has purchased an organics recycling truck and will be purchasing carts and bins.
Oseguera also informed the council of SB 1383, which was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2016. According to Oseguera, the bill tries to resolve a number of issues regarding short-lived climate pollutants and proposes a ban on organics going into landfills, Oseguera said. The hope is to get 75 percent of organics out of the waste stream by 2025, Oseguera said.
Waste Management will have to determine the correct pricing to discourage people from contaminating the organic waste and figure out where organic materials will be taken to be composted, he said. The law would affect commercial businesses and would present a challenge for municipalities across the state because there is a large need for facilities that handle organic material, Oseguera said.
Waste Management has identified some facilities for Lodi operations, he said, so it won’t be a challenge locally.
Joe Cadelago with Waste Management updated the council on AB 341, which requires mandatory commercial recycling for customers with more than 4 yards of trash service. According to Cadelago, last year Lodi was on Cal-Recycle’s non-compliance list for this law. The city has now reached compliance due to outreach efforts from the city and Waste Management.
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