Recycling at Home

On average, Americans generate 292.4 million tons of trash per year, and recycle 69 million tons. With some additional effort, we can start to recycle even more. Recycling more at home does not require much effort if you spend some time to create a comprehensive recycling system.

Tips to Recycle More Effectively at Home

• Keep a recycling container inside the house next to the trash bin as a reminder for everyone to recycle as much as possible
• Empty, clean, and dry all plastic and glass beverage containers
• Empty, clean, and dry all food waste off any plastic or glass food containers
• Flatten cardboard boxes so that you can fit more recyclables into your bin
• Reduce, reuse, and then recycle

What Goes in What Bin?

When it comes to recycling and helping the environment, we all have an important part to play. Beginning with the way we sort materials to ensure recyclables are handled properly and diverted from waterways and landfills. 

Organic Waste Recycling

Composting 

Home composting is an effective and efficient way to reduce your waste stream at home, while helping to reduce your carbon footprint. By making compost, you are creating a valuable soil amendment that can be used to enhance your garden and landscape. Compost is prepared by decomposing plant and food waste and recycling organic materials. 

Composting Basics

According to the EPA, all composting at home requires three basic ingredients:

• Browns - This includes materials such as dead leaves, branches, and twigs.
• Greens - This includes materials such as grass clippings, vegetable waste, fruit scraps, and coffee grounds.
• Water - Having the right amount of water, greens, and browns is important for compost development.

Your compost pile should have an equal amount of browns to greens. You should also alternate layers of organic materials of different-sized particles. The brown materials provide carbon for your compost, the green materials provide nitrogen, and the water provides moisture to help break down the organic matter.

How to Compost in the Backyard

• Select a dry, shady spot near a water source for your compost pile or bin.

• Add brown and green materials as they are collected, making sure larger pieces are chopped or shredded.

• Moisten dry materials as they are added.

• Once your compost pile is established, mix grass clippings and green waste into the pile and bury fruit and vegetable waste under 10 inches of compost material.

• Optional: Cover top of compost with a tarp to keep it moist. When the material at the bottom is dark and rich in color, your compost is ready to use. This usually takes anywhere between two months to two years.

Vericomposting

Vericomposting is the use of earthworms to convert organic waste into fertilizer. Worms are very efficient at breaking down food scraps and can eat over half their body weight in organic matter every day. The most common species of worms used for this process is the Red Wiggler (Eisenia fetida). Worms can be purchased locally at Home Depot or online at Amazon.

SB 1383 Organic Waste Collection

California is fighting climate change by recycling organic waste. Senate Bill 1383, signed into law in 2016, established statewide targets to achieve a 75% reduction of organic waste in landfills, and to recover at least 20% of edible food by 2025. 

Beginning 2022, SB 1383 requires every jurisdiction to provide organic waste collection services to all residents. “Organic waste” includes food, green material, landscape and pruning waste, organic textiles and carpets, lumber, wood, paper products, printing and writing paper, and manure.

Collection Requirements

Single-Family Homes and Multifamily Complexes of Less than Five Units

Are required to: 

• Subscribe to and participate in their jurisdiction’s organics curbside collection service
• Properly sort their organic waste into the correct containers

Multifamily Residents and Multifamily Complexes of Five Units or More

 Are required to either:

• Subscribe to and participate in their jurisdiction’s organics curbside collection service, or
• Self-haul organic waste to a specified composting facility, community composting program, or other collection activity or program
• Properly sort their organic waste into the correct containers

Multifamily Complex Property Owner or Manager

Are required to:

• Provide organic waste collection services for employees and tenants
• Supply and allow access to an adequate number, size, and location of containers with the correct labels or container colors
• Annually educate employees and tenants on how to properly sort organic waste into the correct bins
• Provide information to new tenants within 14 days of occupation of the premises