Vacaville, CA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)
Key Facts
- State Mandate
- California SB 1383 (2016)
- Subscription
- Mandatory for all residents
- Cart Colors
- Gray/black garbage, blue recycling, green organics
- Organics Targets
- 50% reduction by 2020; 75% by 2025
- Monitoring
- Annual random route reviews
- Processor
- Jepson Prairie Organics
Summary
All Vacaville residents must subscribe to and participate in the City's three-cart Recology service (gray garbage, blue recycling, green organics) under California Senate Bill 1383 and the City's local SB 1383 program. Recyclables and food/organic waste must be sorted out of the garbage. Proper sorting is monitored through annual random collection-route reviews, and improper sorting triggers educational notices with potential escalation to administrative penalties.
California's Organic Waste Reduction SB 1383 Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy ... To reduce methane pollution and other short-lived climate pollutants, California passed SB 1383 (Lara, 2016). The law set targets for 2025: 75% less organic waste sent to landfills. 20% of unsold, still-edible food sent to food recovery organizations. ... All jurisdictions need to provide organic waste collection services to all residents and businesses, and recycle organic waste. ... Jurisdictions must use the products made from the recycled organic material, such as compost and mulch. ... Some food service businesses must donate unsold food to food recovery organizations to help some of the 1 in 5 Californians without enough to eat.
Full Breakdown
California Senate Bill 1383 (signed September 2016) sets statewide targets of a 50% reduction in organic waste disposal by January 1, 2020, and a 75% reduction by January 1, 2025, against 2014 baseline disposal. SB 1383 requires all residents to subscribe to and participate in the City's recycling and organics curbside collection service and mandates specific container colors: gray or black for garbage, blue for recycling, and green for organics. In Vacaville, Recology Vacaville Solano provides all three carts, and the City's SB 1383 program governs sorting compliance.
Blue cart materials include clean paper, cardboard, glass and plastic bottles and jars, aluminum and metal cans. Green cart materials include all food scraps (including meat, dairy, and produce), food-soiled paper, and yard trimmings. Gray cart materials are non-recyclable, non-organic trash. Sorting is monitored annually through random route reviews; if improper sorting is found, a notice is provided to the resident with additional resources and educational materials, and persistent violations can escalate to administrative penalties. Single-family customers receive a complimentary kitchen pail to collect food scraps for transfer to the green cart.
Organic materials are processed at Jepson Prairie Organics. Businesses and multi-family complexes are subject to parallel commercial SB 1383 service-level requirements administered through Recology's Business Services.
Violations & Fines
Improper sorting first results in an educational notice ("oops tag") under the City's SB 1383 program. Repeated violations can result in administrative penalties under the City's SB 1383 enforcement framework. Non-subscription ("self-hauling" residential trash) without an approved waiver violates SB 1383 and the franchise agreement and can trigger enforcement by the City under Vacaville Municipal Code Chapter 8.10.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is recycling required in Vacaville?
What happens if I put trash in my Vacaville recycling cart?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Vacaville
California rules heatmap·Compare Vacaville to another location·View the California trash & recycling overview
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Recycling Requirements in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Solano County handle recycling requirements.