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

Article 13, the county's Mandatory Organic Waste Disposal Reduction Ordinance, implements California's SB 1383 organics law locally, and § 4-03-1620 authorizes the Solid Waste Director to enforce it in the unincorporated area. Under § 4-03-1635(a), Single-Family Organic Waste Generators must pay for and subscribe to the county's organic waste collection service for all organic waste they generate unless the Solid Waste Director has granted a waiver under § 4-03-1645; the county can review the number and size of a household's containers and require the resident to adjust the service level to match what it actually generates.

Residents sort food waste and yard trimmings into the Green Container, which under § 4-03-1635(b) is reserved solely for Source Separated Green Container Organic Waste: no recyclable material and no nonorganic trash may go into it. 9(c) as referenced in § 4-03-1625. Enforcement runs through the Solid Waste Department: inspectors may conduct Compliance Reviews, Route Reviews, and complaint investigations under § 4-03-1670, though they cannot enter the interior of a private residence. Repeated cart contamination, meaning Prohibited Container Contaminants placed in the Green Container, can bring a contamination processing fee after three consecutive violations, while other violations of the organics mandate bring a written Notice of Violation with 60 days to comply before a citation issues under § 4-03-1675.