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

SB 1383 is the statewide Short-Lived Climate Pollutants law that aims to cut organic-waste disposal and generally requires jurisdictions to provide organic-waste (food scraps, food-soiled paper, green waste) collection to residents and businesses. However, CalRecycle allows waivers and exemptions, and Mono County fits several. A 'rural county' under Public Resources Code Section 42649.8 is one with a total population under 70,000; Mono County's population (roughly 13,000) is well below that, making it a rural jurisdiction eligible for rural relief. CalRecycle also authorizes an elevation waiver for jurisdictions or census tracts at or above 4,500 feet, and a low-population waiver, criteria that fit Mono County's terrain, where communities such as Bridgeport sit well above 6,000 feet. The neighboring incorporated Town of Mammoth Lakes, which the County's unincorporated rules do not cover, has publicly stated it is exempt from the composting collection requirement under both rural and high-altitude exemptions while still subject to food-recovery rules, an indicator of how the same exemptions apply across the region. The County's own solid-waste materials reviewed here describe AB 341 mandatory commercial recycling but do not advertise a mandatory residential organics or curbside food-waste program, and the two franchise haulers' residential pages show no curbside organics service. Therefore, while SB 1383 is state law that controls where no local exemption applies, the available evidence indicates unincorporated Mono County operates under rural, low-population, and/or high-elevation relief rather than full residential organics collection. The exact CalRecycle-posted waiver record for Mono County was not retrievable during this research, so residents should confirm current status with Mono County Solid Waste.