What you need to know about California's new composting law — a game changer for food waste
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, with the actual startup date varying, depending on the location of your home or business.
Fines can be levied for failing to separate organic refuse from other trash. But those charges aren’t scheduled to begin until 2024. CalRecycle, the state agency overseeing the change,
about the new requirements on its website.
Others offering composting solutions include
— which gives instructions on home composting and also offers community hubs where organic material can be dropped — and
, which provides a home pickup service in some neighborhoods, for a fee.
Isn’t garbage just garbage? Why are California lawmakers requiring us to separate organic waste from the rest of our trash?
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.
...but it's so "authoritarian" like traffic laws, and education requirements an whatnotanymore these days.
...WTF?