Baldwin Park, CA Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Composting and organic waste in Baldwin Park are driven by California SB 1383 (statewide mandatory organic waste collection), administered locally through the city's Organics Recycling program with hauler Waste Management. Everyone - residents (including multi-family and single-family homeowners) and businesses - is required to participate by sorting discarded materials into the correct bins; the hauler also handles monitoring and reporting to the state. Improper sorting can lead to contamination charges, and the city notes the state mandates that it fine non-participating residents and businesses. Food scraps such as meat, fish, poultry, coffee grounds, fruits, vegetables and plate scrapings are classified as organic waste. The city encourages home composting of food scraps as a way to reduce waste, and has joined the San Gabriel Valley COG regional food-recovery program. On the landscape side, the Zoning Code's prescriptive compliance option (Section 153.160.225.A.2) requires incorporating compost at a rate of at least four cubic yards per 1,000 square feet to a depth of six inches into landscape areas (unless a soils test indicates otherwise), and the maintenance schedule encourages topdressing with compost (Section 153.160.160.B). There is no city ordinance banning backyard compost bins; backyard composting is supported.