In September 2016, then Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1383 (SB 1383, Lara, 2016) to achieve a reduction in the statewide disposal of organic waste. Organic waste is primarily comprised of food scraps, green waste, landscape and pruning waste, wood and lumber, and paper products. Diverting organic waste from landfills conserves the planet’s natural and limited resources such as space, water/air pollution and more. Keeping organic waste out of landfills also reduces the amount of greenhouse gas, such as methane, produced when organic materials break down over time which can have a warming effect on the atmosphere. SB 1383 builds upon existing legislation related to solid waste and recycling, including Assembly Bill 939 (AB 939), Assembly Bill 341 (AB 341), and Assembly Bill 1826 (AB 1826).

In order to comply with state mandates and add additional services, the Sanitary District Board and City Council approved an amended and restated franchise agreement with Republic in June 2022 that included new programs and services for the District. The Agreement went into effect on July 1, 2022. During development of the Agreement, the Board of Directors expressed a desire for an update on the implementation of the Agreement after time had passed.

SB 1383

Impacts for Residential Customers 

Prior to the implementation of SB 1383, Garden Grove residents at single-family properties were already using a 3-cart system, separating their recyclables and yard waste from their general landfill waste. As a result of SB 1383, residents are now required to also separate their food waste and place it in their existing yard waste container. The residential food waste program began September 1, 2022. All residential customers who subscribe to cart services were notified of the new organics recycling program with a letter and two (2) robocalls from Republic on August 4th and August 25th. The District and Republic Services continue to monitor participation through annual container inspections and provide additional education and outreach to increase participation.

Impacts for Commercial and Multi-Family Customers

SB 1383 requires all generators of trash to keep recyclables and organic materials from going to a landfill. As of December 2022, the District has 3,400  commercial and multi-family accounts were not participating in the SB 1383 mandate. In 2022, Republic Services completed site visits for 2,020 commercial and multi-family accounts. During these visits, a Recycling Coordinator advised onsite staff of the state requirements and provided recommendations for compliance.

Commercial and multi-family generators that are not compliant with regulations will be automatically enrolled with the lowest level of service in phases throughout 2023. The minimum cost for these services will be $75 for organics cart service and $75 for recycling cart service per month. Through the auto enrollment process, condo and town home developments that have individual cart service, but do not have a landscape debris cart, will be brought into compliance with the addition of an organics cart at residential service rates.

Public Works and Republic staff piloted the auto enrollment in late November. Deliveries were successfully completed in December. Both Republic and Public Works continue to monitor participation and provide additional outreach to the customers included in the pilot program.

Non-compliant generators in the auto enrollment program will receive a letter announcing the program (Attachment B). The letter notifies customers of a 30 day window before containers are delivered to contact Republic for questions or discuss their service levels with a Recycling Coordinator. The remaining non-compliant generators will be automatically enrolled throughout calendar year 2023. The District has the opportunity to grant organic service-only waivers to generators that meet certain criteria after an application is received and a site visit is completed prior to District approval. Additionally, Public Works, Republic and our consultant, HF&H, are planning community meetings with businesses and multi-family communities about the program and legislative requirements.

Full compliance is anticipated during 2023, in alignment with the District’s Notice of Intent to Comply that was submitted to CalRecycle, the state enforcement agency, in March 2022. Please see Attachment B for the complete auto enrollment plan and schedule for 2023.

Edible Food Recovery

SB 1383 also sets goals for the state to reduce the amount of edible food from being thrown away to address food insecurity. Certain commercial generators that regularly produce a high amount of edible food, as well as large venues and events, are required to donate excess edible food. Republic is currently reviewing the final proposal provided by Abound Food Care to fulfill the edible food recovery Agreement requirements. Abound Food Care will be a resource for Garden Grove businesses to help them meet the edible food recovery and tracking requirements of SB 1383.

Participation

All trash generators are required to participate in programs under SB 1383. Republic staff are required to annually inspect containers in the City for correct sorting of materials. In addition, drivers are expected to continuously monitor the contents of organics and recycling containers before providing service to minimize contamination. Customers will be notified via an automated call ahead of all planned inspections.

If materials are found to be placed in the incorrect container, the customer will receive a container inspection tag that lists the incorrect material and provides education on how to fix it. If the contents of the container are not hazardous, the customer will receive a courtesy pickup and the contents may be disposed of at the landfill due to the incorrect materials. Otherwise, the customer will receive a non-collection notice where they are instructed to remove the incorrect materials before the container can be serviced on their next regular collection day.

The Agreement allows Republic Services to assess improper use fees to customers when they do not follow the sorting guidelines for the recycling and organics containers. Residential customers are assessed these fees after the third recorded contamination event. Commercial customers are assessed fees after the first event. These fees are necessary because of the loss in diversion caused by improper sorting and increased waste processing costs associated with recovering materials from unsorted waste.

Education and Outreach

Staff launched a recycling information hotline in March 2022, (714) 741-5344, and developed an organics recycling webpage, ggcity.org/organics-recycling. Other outreach included publications from the Office of Community Relations, including press releases, CityWorks, the Parks and Recreation Guide, the Garden Grove Communicator, and the Vietnamese newsletter. All publications can be accessed through the City’s organics recycling webpage.

The District has hosted two (2) community meetings focused on providing Garden Grove residents an overview of the legislative requirements and the new organics recycling program followed by a Q&A session. Attendees were also provided a kitchen pail to assist with food waste collection inside their home. A third community meeting is currently being planned and will offer residents another opportunity to learn more about the new organics recycling program and receive a kitchen pail. A limited number of kitchen pails are also available for pickup at the Republic Services Anaheim office located at 1131 N Blue Gum St. (while supplies last). The kitchen pails were funded by a one-time grant from CalRecycle to help implement SB 1383 programs.

In addition, Republic is required to send informational notices via direct mail to all customers ahead of any program changes related to SB 1383. These mailers provide direct contact information for the District’s dedicated Republic Recycling Coordinators to provide technical assistance over the phone for all customers, or in-person visits for commercial and multi-family customers. Technical assistance is available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. All printed materials are offered in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Korean languages via the use of QR codes.

Other Agreement Requirements

  Progress Review of Additional Programs

• Abandoned Items and Alley Sweeps Cleanup Program: The program launched in September 2022 and has been successful in clearing areas with frequent abandoned items  throughout Garden Grove. Public Works experienced a 45% decrease in abandoned item reports in the last four months of 2022 compared to the same time period in 2021.

• Performance Monitoring: As part of the implementation of the new agreement with Republic, staff has started to track and monitor complaints, problems, and issues reported to the District in a centralized database. Additionally, the Agreement requires Republic to provide their customer complaint log to the District for review. A summary of the complaints recorded by Republic’s customer service department from July through December 2022 has been included as Attachment C.

• Neighborhood Cleanups, Compost Giveaway, and Annual Shred Events: The City and Republic Services will be hosting six (6) cleanup events and one (1) compost giveaway event in Spring 2023. Refer to attachment D below for dates, times, and locations. Additional details for the cleanup events can be found at ggcity.org/pw/cleanup-days.  The new shredding event is being scheduled for fall of 2023. Staff will provide an update and begin publicizing the event when the details and location have been confirmed.

• City Facility Organics and Recyclables Collection: All City facilities now require recycling and organics programs. Public Works staff are in the process of procuring internal collection containers before final program roll-out to all City facilities. Multi-family Bulky Item Collection: Republic is now offering bulky item pickup services for multi-family properties as required in the Agreement. Recycling coordinators are actively working with property managers to educate their tenants of the new program.  Both the District and Republic are highlighting this expanded service where appropriate.

• Sharps Collection Program: Residents can now call Republic Services to request their sharps mail-back containers for no additional charge. Information on the program was included in the September CityWorks newsletter and is on the City’s website.

By: Mark Ladney, Sr. Program Specialist