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

Section 31-81 implements SB 1383's organic-waste diversion mandate at the county level. The default rule is enrollment, not opt-in: every residential premises, multifamily complex and commercial customer in the mandatory service area or a recycling zone is required to subscribe to the licensed hauler's three-container system for solid waste, recyclables and organic waste. Only a written self-haul waiver from the county excuses that subscription, and premises outside a recycling zone in the non-mandatory service area are exempt from SB 1383's requirements entirely. Subsection A spells out the mechanics for organic waste generators: residential premises and any commercial premises located in a recycling zone are automatically enrolled in the three-container service regardless of whether their area is otherwise non-mandatory, and generators must sort correctly, placing organic waste including food waste in the organics container, recyclables in the recycling container, and everything else in the solid waste container, with a specific bar on dumping trash-designated material into either the organics or recycling container.

Commercial premises and multifamily complexes carry added duties under the same section: supplying enough properly colored or labeled containers, training employees and tenants, and giving new tenants education on the sorting rules.