Item 6 - SB 1383 Solid Waste Regulation UpdatesMarch 2, 2021, Item #6DATE: TO: FROM: CONTACT: SUBJECT: Summary: AGENDA REPORT City of Poway CITY COUNCIL March 2, 2021 Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council Eric Heidemann, Director of Public Works f '\lr ~ Will Wiley, Assistant Director of Public Works for Maintenance Operation/f/ (858) 668-4705 or wwiley@poway.org 7 SB 1383 Solid Waste Regulation Updates This report will provide an overview of Senate Bill (SB) 1383, Short-Lived Climate Pollutants: Organic Waste Methane Emissions Reductions, regulations that will go into effect on January 1, 2022, and summarize the current status of the City's efforts and the next steps to be taken to implement an organics recycling compliance program. Recommended Action: It is recommended that the City Council receive and file this report. Discussion: The City of Poway is subject to various State mandates instituted for the purpose of achieving landfill diversion. Diversion is defined as the process of redirecting waste away from a ~andfill destination to be recycled or reused in some capacity. Typically, aluminum cans, paper, cardboard, and some plastics can be recycled, which achieve landfill diversion. Similarly, organic waste such as grass clippings and yard waste ("green waste"), and food waste can be diverted away from landfills by composting and other forms of organic recycling. The State of California has targeted landfills as a key source of greenhouse gas emissions, and the State has passed a series of laws aimed at reducing the quantity of waste being sent to landfills. Assembly Bill (AB) 1826, Mandatory Commercial Organics Recycling, went into effect on April 1, 2016, which requires some businesses, including multifamily properties with five or more units, to recycle their organic waste. This law defines organic waste as food waste, food soiled paper, landscape debris, and clean wood waste. Specifically, it requires any business generatingtwo (2) or more cubic yards of solid waste weekly (trash, recycling and organic waste combined) to recycle their organic waste (under AB 1826, multifamily properties are only required to recycle landscape debris). AB 1826 also requires the City to implement a commercial organic waste recycling program that includes identifying threshold businesses, educating them on organic recycling requirements and how to 1 of 3
March 2, 2021, Item #6comply, and monitoring compliance. Starting on January 1, 2022, SB 1383 increases the reach of AB 1826 and requires that organic waste collection be mandatory for residential properties, in addition to several more requirements aimed at reducing organic waste levels statewide. The legislation tasks California's Department of Resources and Recovery (CalRecycle) with developing the regulations that will impose those requirements necessary to achieve the state-wide targets of reducing organic waste disposal by 75 percent by 2025 and increasing edible food recovery for human consumption currently landfilled by 20 percent by 2025. To determine the impacts to the City, staff has reviewed and analyzed SB 1383, attended informal workshops held by Cal Recycle, and worked with member jurisdictions of the Regional Solid Waste Association (RSWA), of which the City is a member, to identify a compliance action plan. The following summarizes the requirements of the City per Cal Recycle starting January 1, 2022: • Provide organic waste collection to all residents and businesses. • Conduct outreach and education to Tier One (commercial edible food generators, e.g., supermarket, with a total facility size equal or greater than 10,000 sq. ft.) and Tier Two (commercial edible food generators, such as restaurants, hotels and health facilities with on-site food facilities) edible food generators, food recovery organizations, and city/county departments. • Procure recycled organic waste products like compost, mulch, and renewable natural gas. • Inspect and monitor Tier One and Tier Two edible food generators and enforce compliance through enforceable ordinances. • Conduct capacity planning evaluating the City's readiness to implement SB 1383 regulations, and if found to be insufficient, implement an edible food recovery program. • Maintain accurate and timely records of SB 1383 compliance. Next Steps: The City and its franchise waste hauler, EDCO Waste & Recycling Services (EDCO) are implementing an organics recycling program starting March 1, 2021, beginning with residential collection, then incorporating businesses and multi-family residences by the end of 2021. In June 2020, the City Council approved the residential organic waste collection program, which consisted of incorporating an automatic collected green cart to the solid waste collection program. From September -October 2020, EDCO delivered over 14,000 green carts to residents for green waste collection with the intention of utilizing them to also start collecting organic waste in 2021 in time for the SB 1383 requirement. EDCO and the City, via existing contracts and staff, will be providing extensive outreach and support to residents and businesses throughout the transition and aims to bring as many accounts into compliance by January 1, 2022. In order to implement an outreach and education program for edible food generators, as well as conduct inspections and monitoring, the City participated in a Request for Proposal (RFP) process for qualified consulting firms along with fellow members of RSWA and are currently negotiating a cost-share agreement for consulting and outreach services. Staff is contracting out these services due to the lack of available staff capacity and in-house technical knowledge and experience related to the required scope of services required for compliance. Existing funds from grants and RSWA funding will be sufficient to cover the first two years of required services, after which staff will re-assess the City's efforts and success in achieving compliance and determine whether additional staff is required or participation in the cost-share agreement is necessary. During the second quarter of 2021, Cal Recycle will be releasing multiple capacity planning tools and 2 of3
March 2, 2021, Item #6guidance documents to assist jurisdictions on determining disposed organic waste and edible food, as well as assessing existing, new, or expanded infrastructure and available capacity. The need for capacity planning and additional edible food programming will be determined with these tools and the City can begin planning, in coordination with CalRecycle and San Diego County, if the available programs are deemed insufficient. Lastly, staff are in the process of drafting changes to the City's Municipal Code Chapter 8.68 Solid Waste Management in order to support enforcement and compliance with new regulations. These changes and any necessary changes to the City's Franchise Agreement with EDCO will be presented to the City Council at a future meeting in the third quarter of 2021 for consideration. Environmental Review: This action is not subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Fiscal Impact: None. Public Notification: None. Attachments: None. Reviewed/Approved By: We~aserman Assistant City Manager 3 of3 Reviewed By: Alan Fenstermacher City Attorney City Manager