San Mateo County, CA Trash & Recycling: Mandatory Organics Recycling (2026)

SB 1383 (Lara, Chapter 395, Statutes of 2016) is the statewide Short-Lived Climate Pollutant law that, effective January 1, 2022, requires jurisdictions to provide organic-waste collection to all residents and businesses and requires generators to subscribe to and participate in that service. In the unincorporated area, San Mateo County adopted the SB 1383 organics-collection requirements by amending Chapter 4.04 of the County Code (Solid Waste Collection, Transport, Storage, and Disposal); the amendment added jurisdiction organics-collection requirements and provisions for annual compliance reviews, route reviews, inspections, and enforcement covering both residential and commercial generators. In practice, single-family residents in the unincorporated SBWMA/RethinkWaste service area are automatically provided curbside organics (green compost cart) service, and Recology provides a kitchen pail at no charge for collecting food scraps to empty into the green cart. Organic waste that must be diverted includes food scraps, food-soiled paper, and yard trimmings (for example, pizza boxes, paper towels, and napkins). Businesses and multifamily properties of five or more units must subscribe to compost service (or self-haul with documentation), provide green compost and blue recycling containers, post color-coded signage, and train staff and tenants. Certain larger food-generating businesses must also arrange edible-food recovery (donation) under SB 1383's food-recovery tiers, with the County's Environmental Health Services offering assistance. The County, required by the state to inspect residents and businesses annually, may issue notices and, for continued non-compliance, fines.