Placer County, CA Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

California's SB 1383 (effective January 1, 2022) requires jurisdictions to divert organic waste from landfills to cut methane. Placer County adopted its implementing ordinance, with the Board's final action on March 8, 2022, but it complies in a way that differs from most of California. In unincorporated western Placer County, residents subscribed to the One Big Bin (single-bin) program do not have to source-separate food scraps or other organics from their trash. That is because planned improvements at the Western Placer Waste Management Authority (WPWMA) materials recovery facility sort and divert a high percentage of organic material on-site, so single-stream collection still meets the state diversion goal. Eastern Placer County is largely exempt due to low population density, and parts of North Lake Tahoe qualify for high-elevation waivers from some requirements; the county developed alternate compliance approaches for those areas. Importantly, nothing in the county's program prohibits a resident or business from reducing organic waste on-site or using it for backyard compost or animal feed, so home composting remains fully allowed and is a recognized self-haul/reduction method. Confirm your specific service area's rules with Placer County or your hauler.