California’s new composting law requires everyone to compost their food waste. California has authorized a law to keep food scraps out of landfills. The food waste eventually becomes compost that can be combined with soil. Some California cities and counties are still working out their plans to gather food waste. This new law means egg shells, banana peels, leftover pasta and other food scraps can no longer go in with the rest of the trash. Californians will change how they dispose of their organic waste, particularly leftover food and kitchen scraps.
Scientists have found that organic waste dumped into traditional landfills decomposes and creates methane, a super-pollutant with as much as 80 times the Earth-warming potency of carbon dioxide. To slow the advance of global warming, the state wants to redirect the material to composting centers or anaerobic digestion facilities, where it can help sink carbon back into the Earth or capture natural gas to — for instance — power trash trucks. Senate Bill 1383 requires all residents and businesses to separate such green waste from other trash, but the program will be rolled out gradually for homes and businesses in the coming months.
Most extra food waste will go to large composting centers or to plants that will convert it into natural gas. The opening date for organics diversion varies, depending on where you live. Fines can be levied for failing to separate organic refuse from other trash. However, those charges aren’t scheduled to begin until 2024. CalRecycle, the state agency overseeing the change, has lots of information about the new requirements on its website.
A survey by the League of California Cities found that most local governments expect refuse collection rates to increase, with some cities saying they expect charges to go up more. The main goal of the new composting law is to reduce the amount of organic waste ending up in landfills. When food scraps end up in landfills, they produce Methane, a very harmful gas.