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Anaheim, CA Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Statute
Cal. Health & Safety Code § 39730.6
2020 target
50% cut in statewide organic-waste disposal
2025 target
75% cut in statewide organic-waste disposal
Enforcement
CalRecycle penalties under Pub. Resources Code § 42652.5
Procurement deadline
100% of compost/mulch target due January 1, 2025
Local tie-in
Anaheim Community Composting capped at 100 cu. yd./750 sq. ft.

Summary

California's SB 1383 sets the legal floor behind every composting bin and green cart in Anaheim: Health and Safety Code Section 39730.6 locks in a 50 percent cut in statewide organic-waste disposal by 2020 and 75 percent by 2025, and CalRecycle's companion procurement rules under Public Resources Code Section 42652.5 back the mandate with civil penalties the City itself can face for missing its compost-use target.

(a) Consistent with Section 39730.5, methane emissions reduction goals shall include the following targets to reduce the landfill disposal of organics: (1) A 50-percent reduction in the level of the statewide disposal of organic waste from the 2014 level by 2020. (2) A 75-percent reduction in the level of the statewide disposal of organic waste from the 2014 level by 2025. (b) Except as provided in this section and Section 42652.5 of the Public Resources Code, the state board shall not adopt, prior to January 1, 2025, requirements to control methane emissions associated with the disposal of organic waste in landfills other than through landfill methane emissions control regulations.

Source: CA SB 1383 Organics DiversionView official code

Full Breakdown

Anaheim's residential organics program did not spring from local policy choice; it exists because the Legislature made composting mandatory. 5 requires the state board to cut statewide methane emissions 40 percent below 2013 levels by 2030 as part of the same short-lived-climate-pollutant strategy, which is what forces every California city, including Anaheim, to run a curbside organics and composting program rather than leave food scraps and yard trimmings in the landfill stream. 5, which lets the department require local jurisdictions to procure a quantity of recovered organic waste products such as finished compost and mulch, backed by an escalating civil penalty schedule: jurisdictions had to hit 30 percent of their procurement target by January 1, 2023, 65 percent by January 1, 2024, and 100 percent by January 1, 2025.

5 also carves out real exemptions, including a rural-jurisdiction exemption running through January 1, 2037, and a process letting a city facing continuing violations during 2022 file a notification of intent to comply with a corrective-action schedule in exchange for penalty relief. 110, is the local answer to this state-level mandate.

Violations & Fines

The 2016 statute assigns penalties to jurisdictions and processors, not to individual residents. CalRecycle can fine the City of Anaheim directly if it misses its compost or mulch procurement target, with civil penalties authorized under the escalating compliance schedule in Public Resources Code Section 42652.5(a)(6). A city that ignored a notice of ongoing violation could also lose eligibility for the 2022 penalty-relief window Section 42652.5(c)-(g) created for jurisdictions that filed a timely corrective action plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Anaheim's composting requirement a local ordinance or state law?
Both. The underlying mandate is state law: Health and Safety Code Section 39730.6 orders a 75 percent statewide cut in landfilled organic waste by 2025. Anaheim implements that mandate locally through Municipal Code Chapter 10.10, which requires curbside organics separation and caps small-scale Community Composting at 100 cubic yards and 750 square feet.
Can the state fine Anaheim over composting, not just residents?
Yes. Public Resources Code Section 42652.5 lets CalRecycle impose civil penalties directly on a city that fails to procure enough recovered organic waste products, such as compost or mulch, to meet its target, with penalties escalating on a schedule that required 100 percent compliance by January 1, 2025.
Are rural or small operations exempt from the state composting rules?
Some are. Section 42652.5(a)(9) preserves a rural-jurisdiction exemption from the organic waste collection and procurement requirements in Title 14 through January 1, 2037, and Section 42652.5(i) lets small composting operations, including those under 100 cubic yards and 750 square feet at a time, count toward compliance differently than large commercial composters.

Sources & Official References

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