Bellflower, CA Trash & Recycling: Mandatory Organics Recycling (2026)

California's SB 1383 (the Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Act) requires jurisdictions to divert organic waste from landfills. Because Bellflower's population is roughly 79,000 — well above the 70,000 threshold — the city is NOT eligible for the rural exemption and must fully implement organics collection and edible-food-recovery programs. Effective January 1, 2022, CR&R Environmental Services and the City of Bellflower launched a Food Scrap and Landscaping Recycling Program that collects organic materials and transports them to a composting facility. From that date, the mandate required all commercial customers and multi-family properties (generally five or more units) to participate in an organic material collection program. Single-family residents place organics in the green cart, which accepts food waste, green waste, landscape and pruning waste, food-soiled paper, and nonhazardous wood waste; items NOT accepted include recyclables (plastic, glass, metal), Styrofoam, bones, waxed/coated paper, pet waste, palm fronds, and trash. Commercial businesses generating two or more cubic yards of organic waste weekly must subscribe to organics service, or self-haul their organic waste to a qualifying processing facility and keep records of the amount delivered. SB 1383 also requires Tier 1 and Tier 2 edible-food generators to arrange recovery of surplus edible food. Bellflower administers the program through Public Works (562-804-1424) with CR&R as hauler; CR&R contact is bellflower_recycles@crrmail.com.