Santa Maria, CA Trash & Recycling: Mandatory Organics Recycling (2026)

04 requires every Single-Family Organic Waste Generator to subscribe to the City's collection services for all Organic Waste, place Source Separated Green Container Organic Waste, including food waste, in the green cart, recyclables in the blue cart, and trash in the gray cart, and prohibits mixing gray-cart waste into the green or blue carts. 03 expressly includes any Multi-Family Residential Dwelling of five units or more; buildings with fewer than five units are exempt from the commercial rules. Commercial generators must also supply labeled containers in customer areas, train employees annually, inspect containers daily for contamination, and give new tenants sorting instructions within 14 days of move-in.

08 by documenting that its organic waste is under 20 gallons per applicable container per week where its total waste service is two cubic yards or more, or under 10 gallons per week where total service is less than two cubic yards; waiver eligibility must be reverified every five years. 16 to check compliance. From January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023, noncompliant generators received education materials and a compliance deadline instead of penalties; civil penalties for noncompliance began January 1, 2024.