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

140 requires every Single-Family Organic Waste Generator in a Densely-populated area of unincorporated San Mateo County to subscribe to the County's authorized Solid Waste Hauler's Organic Waste collection service under CCR Title 14, Division 7, Chapter 12. Subsection (d) offers five compliance paths: a three-container system keeping food scraps and yard trimmings in the Green Container, recyclables in the Blue Container, and everything else in the Gray/Black Container (Option 1); a two-container Green/Gray or Blue/Gray split (Option 2); bagged organics in the Green Container if the hauler has told the County's Office of Sustainability it can process bagged material (Option 3); an un-containerized seasonal yard-waste pickup paired with another compliant option (Option 4); or another arrangement, such as split carts, that the County approves at its discretion (Option 5).

Subsection (b) lets a County representative visit any premises to evaluate container capacity and order a generator to adjust its service level. Subsection (c) lets generators instead reduce their waste, manage it on-site, or route it to a Community composting site. 120 instead. 145 lets the County grant a de minimis waiver, organic waste under 20 gallons a week for accounts with 2+ cubic yards of total service, or under 10 gallons a week for smaller accounts, or a physical-space waiver documented by the hauler, an architect or an engineer. The chapter was adopted by Ordinance No. 04856 on December 7, 2021, to implement the state's SB 1383 short-lived climate pollutant mandate.