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

Woodland adopted this chapter by Ordinance No. 1677 in 2021 to comply with California's SB 1383 organic waste reduction mandate. Subsection A of § 13.72.020 requires single-family generators to subscribe to the city's green waste or organic waste collection service for everything they generate, unless a waiver has been granted under § 13.72.040; the city can review a household's container size and number and require the resident to adjust its service level. Subsection C sets the actual sorting rule: source-separated food waste and other green-container organic waste go in the green container, recyclables go in the blue container, and gray-container waste goes in gray, with mixing between containers prohibited.

Enforcement runs through § 13.72.100: a violation is grounds for a notice of violation and a fine assessed by an enforcement officer, and the city can instead pursue a civil action or a misdemeanor or infraction prosecution. Woodland phased the mandate in deliberately. From January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023, code enforcement staff ran an education period, conducting inspections, remote monitoring, route reviews and waste evaluations and issuing educational notices rather than fines to any noncompliant generator, self-hauler, hauler, or commercial edible food generator.

Administrative civil penalties for the same violations began on January 1, 2024. Inspectors working under § 13.72.090 may review collection containers, hauler loads, and processing facilities, but that section bars city staff from entering the interior of a private residence to check compliance. A resident cited for an uncorrected violation can request a hearing to appeal it.