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

SB 1383 is California's short-lived climate pollutant law requiring large statewide cuts in landfilled organic waste and expanded edible-food recovery, generally including a mandatory organic-waste (green cart) collection program. The regulations contain a rural-jurisdiction exemption, and Modoc County qualifies and has obtained it. A 'rural county' under Public Resources Code section 42649.8 is a county with a total population of less than 70,000 people; Modoc County, at roughly 8,700 residents, is one of California's least-populous counties and well under that threshold. CalRecycle's approved Department-Issued Waivers list shows 'Modoc County' under the Rural Exemption (Counties) category with an effective date of January 1, 2022; within the county, the California Pines Community Services District separately holds a Low Population Waiver (SB 613) approved September 16, 2025. As a result, the unincorporated county is not subject to SB 1383's organic-waste collection-services requirement, so there is no countywide mandate for residents to subscribe to a green organics cart — consistent with the County's solid-waste pages, which describe transfer stations and drop-off recycling but no curbside organics program. The rural exemption was reaffirmed and extended for California's 19 rural counties (including Modoc) by AB 2902 (Wood), signed in 2024. What still applies, even with the rural exemption, is SB 1383's edible food recovery program (commercial edible-food generators must arrange to recover surplus edible food) plus universal duties such as recycled-content paper procurement and model water-efficient landscaping. Residents may still compost voluntarily. Because exemptions are time-limited and subject to renewal and legislative change, confirm current status with the County and CalRecycle.