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

Mandatory organics recycling in the unincorporated county is driven by California Senate Bill 1383, the state's Short-Lived Climate Pollutants law, which took effect January 1, 2022 and requires jurisdictions to provide organic-waste collection to all residents and businesses and to divert organics from landfills (state targets include a 75% reduction in organic-waste disposal and recovering at least 20% of edible food). Monterey County implements SB 1383 in the unincorporated area through its Unified Franchise Agreement, under which every single-family dwelling must receive organic-waste collection service as part of the three-cart system. Multi-family complexes of five or more units must subscribe to organics collection, yard-waste service, or both, and can apply for a waiver from the County's Environmental Health Division (for example, for genuine space constraints) rather than simply opting out. Collected organics - food waste, green waste, and soiled paper - are taken to regional facilities operated by the Monterey Regional Waste Management District and the Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority. SB 1383 also requires Tier One and Tier Two commercial edible-food generators (such as larger grocers, restaurants, and food service operations, phased in over time) to arrange to donate surplus edible food to food-recovery organizations and keep records. The franchised hauler performs annual SB 1383 compliance reviews of commercial and multi-family customers and assists the County with identifying edible-food generators. Residents who compost at home are still expected to participate, and may place excess food scraps in the green organics cart. Self-haul or onsite composting is allowed only with proper certification/waiver; otherwise organics service is mandatory.