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

Section 8.18.070(B)(1) requires that a "generator shall place organic materials, including food waste, in the green container; source separated recyclable materials in the blue container; and solid waste in the gray container," and it bars placing gray-designated material into the green or blue containers or green/blue material into the gray container. Doing so "is unlawful and a violation of this chapter," exposing the generator to a contamination processing fee or an enforcement action under Section 8.18.180. The chapter's findings in Section 8.18.010(D)-(E) trace this mandate to SB 1383, the Short-lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Act of 2016, which directs CalRecycle to cut organic waste in landfills as a source of methane and requires every city to adopt and enforce an ordinance implementing the state regulations, including a food-recovery component for commercial edible food generators.

Under Section 8.18.100, tier one commercial edible food generators had to begin complying by January 1, 2022, and tier two generators by January 1, 2024. Enforcement under Section 8.18.180 ran an education-only period through December 31, 2023, after which civil penalties applied starting January 1, 2024: $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second, and $500 for a third or subsequent violation, with a notice-and-cure period of sixty days for non-contamination violations and an appeal right under Section 1.15.110. Businesses and multi-family properties may seek a de minimis waiver if their organic waste falls under specific weekly-gallon thresholds, or a physical-space waiver if the property lacks room for the containers (Section 8.18.090). The chapter was adopted by Ord. 2021-014, § 5(exh. A) in 2021 and took effect January 1, 2022 under Section 8.18.200.