San Bernardino County, CA Landscaping Rules: Composting (2026)

Composting in unincorporated San Bernardino County is shaped mainly by California's Short-Lived Climate Pollutants law, SB 1383, implemented through CalRecycle and administered locally by County Public Works' Solid Waste Management Division. SB 1383, effective for residents on January 1, 2022, requires jurisdictions to provide organic-waste collection so that food scraps, yard trimmings, food-soiled paper, and similar organics are diverted from landfills rather than landfilled. The County materials identify organic waste as food waste (raw and cooked, including meats and dairy), garden waste (grass clippings, branches, leaves), food-soiled paper, clean paper products, and untreated wood. In the unincorporated mandatory-collection service area, residents are required to subscribe to collection services that comply with SB 1383. However, residents of certain unincorporated mountain Rim communities, such as Crestline, Lake Arrowhead, and Running Springs, have been treated as exempt from the food-waste separation requirement because they qualify for a Low Population Waiver and/or a High Elevation Waiver. Backyard (home) composting is fully allowed and encouraged statewide as a way to handle some organic waste on site, and the County and CalRecycle promote it; however, home composting is generally treated as a supplement, not a complete substitute for required collection service in the mandatory-collection area. There is no County prohibition on a properly maintained home compost bin, but owners should keep it free of vector attraction and odor nuisances.