Under California's SB 1383, unincorporated Santa Barbara County residents must divert organic waste from the trash. Backyard composting is allowed and actively encouraged as an alternative, and the County offers discounted compost bins, workshops and free guidance through its Resource Recovery program.
Organic-waste handling in the unincorporated County is driven by California's SB 1383 (statewide mandatory organics recycling, effective January 2022) and administered locally by Santa Barbara County Public Works' Resource Recovery & Waste Management division under the "Less Is More" program. SB 1383 requires residents and businesses to separate organic materials — food scraps, food-soiled paper, untreated wood and yard/plant debris — from trash and either subscribe to required collection or self-haul to an approved diversion facility. How this works varies by area: in the unincorporated Lompoc and Santa Maria valleys (including Los Alamos, Vandenberg Village and Orcutt), residents place all organic waste in green carts collected weekly; in the Cuyama Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and South Coast, food scraps stay in the trash and are recovered at the County's ReSource Center, with green carts used for yard waste. Backyard and home composting is allowed and encouraged as the best option — the County notes it reduces hauling emissions and produces a soil amendment — and the program offers discounted composting bins, workshops and a free booklet. So composting at home is permitted countywide; SB 1383 sets the mandate, and the County provides the local programs and incentives.
SB 1383 is a state mandate with local enforcement authority delegated to jurisdictions; the County's Resource Recovery program oversees compliance, and CalRecycle can ultimately hold jurisdictions accountable. Residents are generally required to subscribe to organics service or self-haul; persistent non-compliance can lead to enforcement actions. Backyard composting is a recognized compliant alternative and is not penalized.
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