Washington, DC Trash & Recycling: Mandatory Organics Recycling (2026)

03a phases in commercial food-waste separation by generator size and type. Beginning January 1, 2023, it covers any retail food store with at least 10,000 square feet of floor area and any college or university with at least 2,000 residential students. Beginning January 1, 2024, coverage expands to smaller chain retail stores that share a private collector, operate under common ownership, run three or more locations, and together have at least 10,000 square feet of floor area; to arenas or stadiums seating 15,000 or more; to hospitals and nursing homes with at least 300 beds; and to colleges with at least 500 residential students.

After January 1, 2024, the Mayor may add other entities by rule based on available organic-waste processing capacity within 35 miles of the Capitol dome. Covered generators must donate excess edible food where practicable, source-separate back-of-house food waste for collection to an organic waste processing facility or animal-feed processor, or process it on site through in-vessel composting or a DPW-approved system with properly sized, plumbing-code-compliant equipment. They must supply food-waste containers in work areas, keep food waste in a securely lidded container apart from trash and recyclables, train employees on separation, and post multilingual signage where needed.

Subsection (a)(6) requires a posted sign stating the collector's business name, address, phone number, and pickup schedule, or stating that the entity transports or processes its own food waste. Collectors of source-separated food waste must, in turn, train client businesses on proper separation and flag contamination to customers under subsection (d).