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

Mandatory organics recycling in unincorporated Stanislaus County is driven by California Senate Bill 1383, the state's organic-waste reduction law administered by CalRecycle. SB 1383 requires jurisdictions to provide organic-waste collection and requires generators to participate; because Stanislaus County is a large, populous jurisdiction (roughly 553,000 residents), it does not qualify for the low-population rural waiver that small, sparsely populated counties can claim, so organics collection is required in the affected areas. The County implemented SB 1383 through its franchised haulers. Residential subscribers receive a 96-gallon green cart (90-gallon for Turlock) for organic material including grass clippings, green waste, food waste, and food-soiled paper, collected weekly. A 96-gallon black cart for all other nonhazardous garbage is also collected weekly. Bertolotti Disposal, Gilton Solid Waste, and Turlock Scavenger all provide the green organics cart; Gilton uses a two-cart system (green plus black), while Bertolotti and Turlock use a three-cart system that adds the blue recycling cart. On the commercial side, all businesses in highly populated/affected census tracts must subscribe to organic and inorganic recycling service, with exemptions allowing self-haul or on-site composting where service is not available, plus edible-food-recovery obligations for certain generators. The requirements took effect January 1, 2022 for Bertolotti and Gilton and March 1, 2022 for Turlock Scavenger. Compliance applies to affected census tracts; residents should check the County's census-tract map.