SB-1383 Requirements

Senate Bill (SB) 1383 requires all California businesses, multifamily properties, and residents to divert recyclable and organic materials from landfill.  All entities are required to subscribe to recycling and organic collection services through your solid waste hauler or demonstrate that your divertible materials are being taken to a recycling or composting facility.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), organic waste accounts for a significant portion of California's waste stream. Left to decompose in landfills, the organic waste releases methane, a gas that traps the sun's heat, warms the atmosphere and contributes to climate change. 

Organic waste includes plant debris, food waste, food soiled papers and untreated/unpainted wood.  Compliance assistance is available though the City of Visalia's Solid Waste Division, and enforcement with potential penalties begins on January 1, 2024. Click on SB-1383 Guide for more information.

Who Does this Affect?

    Single-Family homes/Condos/Townhomes

    Multi-Family properties with 5+ more units

    Commercial Businesses

    Public/Private Schools

What do these regulations mean for residents? While having access to recycling and organics waste collection service and sorting waste appropriately have been required for a number of years in Visalia, the new state regulations under SB-1383: Short-Lived Climate Pollutants requires a few changes to the way that residents manage their waste streams. The new regulations will affect residents in three ways:

1. Recycling and Organic Collections: Residents will be required to either have recycling and organic waste collection service or self-haul recyclables and organic wastes themselves.  The City of  Visalia offers recycling and organic can services as part of regular trash collection services.

2. Sort recyclables and organic waste: Recyclable and organics may not be disposed of in trash and must be sorted out for recycling and/or composting.

3. Contamination monitoring: Under the SB-1383 regulations, the City is required to monitor all collection routes for contamination in order to make sure that wastes are being sorted properly.  This means that you may see City staff looking inside your trash, recycling, and/or organics cans when they are set out on the street for collection.  If wastes are not sorted correctly, a contamination warning tag may be left on the can with information on sorting wastes appropriately.  Nothing will be removed from your cans, during these inspections, and cans will not be serviced until contaminated materials have been removed. If you have concerns about sensitive items in your trash or recycling cans, please consider additional steps to keep information secure, including shredding paper and scratching out personal information, etc.  The City of Visalia Solid Waste Division offers free shredding services six times per year for residents during scheduled Dump On Us event.

Avoid getting Fined.  Solid Waste does issue fines for repeated contamination issues.  As stated above the Solid Waste Division will issue an initial "warning tag" about recorded contamination.   If additional contamination issues are recorded at the same account, Solid Waste will then issue contamination fines: 

     1. A fine not exceeding fifty dollars ($50.00) for a first violation.

     2. A fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00) for the second violation within one year; and

     3. A fine not exceeding two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) for each additional violation within one          year of the initial warning tag.  Each day a violation continues shall be regarded as a new and               separate offense. 

Food Recovery - SB 1383 also requires certain food generators to prevent food from being landfilled or composted by increasing donations to food programs.  The law is designed to reduce the production of methane, which contributes to climate change, and will help the state achieve its climate targets by:

    Reducing statewide disposal of organic waste 50% by 2020 and 75% by 2025.  Please click on        Food Scrap & Organics Composting for a list of the many materials that can be composted in a City     of Visalia organics can/bin. 

    The law provides CalRecycle the regulatory authority to achieve the organic waste disposal targets,     and establishes an additional target that not less that 20% of edible food that is currently disposed     of is recovered for human consumption by 2025. For more information, please click on SLCP.

    Click on Commercial Composting for more information on food waste & organics composting     for commercial businesses. 

Food Recovery Requirements - SB-1383 also requires recovering at least 20% of disposed edible food for human consumption by 2025.

Recovering surplus food - Californians send approximately 11.2 billion pounds of food to landfills each year.  Some of that food could have been recovered to feed hungry people.  Recovering the edible food for donation helps to feed people, and helps clean our environment and community.  SB 1383 directs that:

    Jurisdictions establish food recovery programs and strengthen existing recovery networks.

    Edible food generators, who qualify as Tier 1 and Tier 2 Generators (see definitions below) are     required to recover the maximum amount of edible food.

    Food recovery organizations and services that participate in SB 1383 must maintain records.

DEFINITIONS:

Edible food is considered food intended for people to eat, including food not sold because of appearance, age freshness, grade, size, and surplus.  Edible food includes, but is not limited to produce, packaged foods, and prepared food, which has been kept within safe temperature zones and not served or placed for a buffet.

Edible Food Generators are mandated by SB 1383 to recover and donate the maximum amount of food for human consumption.  Generators are divided into the following categories:

    Tier 1 Edible Food Generators are required to comply with SB 1383 edible food donation     requirements by January 1, 2022, and include the following businesses:

    Wholesale Food Vendors

    Food Distributors

    Food Service Providers

    Supermarkets

    Grocery Stores 

    Tier 2 Edible Food Generators are required to comply with SB 1383 edible food donation     requirements by January 1, 2024, and include the following businesses:

    Hotels with on-site food facilities and 200+ rooms

    Restaurants with > 5000 sq. ft. or 250+ seats

    Health Facilities with on-site food facilities and 100+ beds

    State Agency Cafeterias

    Large Venues and Events

    Local Education Agencies

Food Recovery Organization is an entity that engages in the collection or receipt of edible food from commercial edible generators and distributes that edible food to the public for food recovery.  A food recovery organization can include a food bank, a nonprofit charitable organization, and a charitable temporary food facility.

Food Recovery Service means a person or entity that collects and transports edible food from a commercial edible food generator to a food recovery organization or entity for food recovery.

Effective July 1, 2020 Mandatory Commercial Recycling (MCR) and Mandatory Organics Recycling (MORe) requires businesses, public entities, and school to provide recycling and organics containers at front-of-house to collect waste generated by customers from products they purchase and consume on the premises. These containers must be placed adjacent to trash containers.

For more information click SB-1383 Guide, or click CalRecycle to view/print this tool in multiple languages. 

    1. Safely recover the maximum amount of edible food and donate it to a local food program to feed          community members.

    2. Partner with local food programs such as soup kitchens, food pantries, food banks, or other                organizations that rescue food to feed people. 

    3. Create a written agreement with each food program that picks up or receives donated food from          your business.  See Cal Recycles Model Food Recovery Agreement as an example template. 

Below is a list of local food recovery organizations that can assist you to:

     Central California Food Bank - Shelbe Vanzwol - 559-237-3663 ext. 1118

     Visalia Emergency Aid Food Pantry - Christina Guerrero - 559-732-0101

     Bethlehem Center - Anna Hernandez- 559-734-1572

     Visalia Rescue Mission - Gustavo Nobrega- 559-740-4178

     Food Link Tulare County - Andrea Kelly - 559-651-3663

Additionally, here is a link to the Tulare County 211 Food Pantries webpage as well as a link to the California Association of Food Banks locator tool.

Donor Liability Information - The following laws provide donor liability protection:

    United States Code, Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, Title 42, Chapter     13A, Section 1791 (c)(1): A person or gleaner shall not be subject to civil or criminal liability     arising from the nature, age, packaging, or condition of apparently wholesome food or an apparently     fit grocery product that the person or gleaner donates in goodfaith to a nonprofit organization for     ultimate distribution to needy individuals. This section shall not be construed to create any liability.     Nothing in this section shall be construed to supercede State or local health regulations.  

    California Health and Safety Code, Section 114432: Any food facility may donate food to a food     bank or to any other nonprofit charitable organization for distribution to persons free of charge.

    California Health and Safety Code, Section 114433: No food facility that donates food as     permitted by Section 114432 shall be subject to civil or criminal liability or penalty for violation of     any laws, regulations, or ordinances regulating the labeling or packaging of the donated product or,     with respect to any laws, regulations, or ordinances, for a violation occurring after the time of     donation.

    California Civil Code, Section 1714.25(a): Except for injury resulting from negligence or a willful     act in the preparation or handling of donated food, no food facility that donates any food that is fit     for human consumption at the time it was donated to a nonprofit charitable organization or a food     bank shall be liable for any damage or injury resulting from the consumption of the donated food.     The immunity from civil liability provided by this subdivision applies regardless of compliance with     any laws, regulations, or ordinances regulating the packaging or labeling of food, and regardless of     compliance with any laws, regulations, or ordinances regulating the storage or handling of the food     by the donee after the donation of food.

Waivers: Certain businesses may qualify for a limited-term organics waiver.  To request a waiver review, see below for qualification.  If you can demonstrate your waiver qualifications, complete and return a City of Visalia Waiver Request Form.

         A. General Minimal Organics (De Minimis Waiver): De Minimis Waivers will be considered if               you can demonstrate that you dispose of less than 20 gallons of organics each week; or 10                     gallons per week for smaller business.  Multifamily properties are not eligible for                                    De Minimis Waivers, due to the volume of tenants food waste.  

        B. Physical Space Waiver: If your business premises lacks adequate space for organics waste                containers, you may qualify for a Physical Space Waiver.  A site visit will be required to                          verify your claim; limited Physical Space Waivers will be granted.     

Resources 

    All food donations must meet the food safety requirements of the California Retail Food Code.

    For more information on safe surplus food donation and food safety, please visit the  California Conference of Directors of Environmental Health website.

    The  Safe Surplus Food Toolkit provides guidance for food facilities on best donation practice

    The  Restaurant Food Waste Action Guide provides information to restaurants with information on     food waste solutions, including prioritizing prevention, recovery, and then, recycling

Residential Food Waste Composting

    The good news is that the City of Visalia began to collect food waste and other organics in 2012.      For new accounts and for those who have not yet participated we encourage you to immediately     begin placing all food scraps into the same Green Waste can with your lawn trimmings, landscaping     waste, and other organics.  For more information on organics recycling in your existing residential     green waste can please click on Residential Composting.