Lake Forest, CA Trash & Recycling: Mandatory Organics Recycling (2026)

California Senate Bill 1383 directs CalRecycle to adopt regulations to achieve a 75 percent reduction in organic waste disposal statewide. Because the City of Lake Forest has roughly 85,800 residents — well over the threshold for low-population rural exemptions — it is fully subject to the organics mandate and implements it citywide through its franchised hauler, CR&R. All single-family homes have received carts that comply with SB 1383, which standardizes container colors as black/grey for landfill, blue for recycling, and green for organics. The organics (green) cart is collected weekly on the resident's regular collection day. Residents are given a kitchen food scrap pail to collect food scraps indoors and then empty into the green cart. Accepted organics include food scraps (spoiled food, fruits, vegetables, cheese, meat, bones, bread and grains, tea and coffee), yard trimmings (grass clippings, leaves, flowers, hedge clippings, and weeds), and non-hazardous wood waste (tree branches, trunks, and untreated lumber). Prohibited from the organics cart are pet waste, palm fronds, plastic bags or packaging, glass, and metal. Multi-family and other shared-bin housing units are slated to receive kitchen food scrap pails starting in 2026. The City recommends layering yard trimmings at the bottom and alternating with food scraps to keep the cart cleaner. This program operationalizes the statewide SB 1383 requirement at the City level.