Long Beach organic recycling program starts in October. Are you among the first homes?
The state mandated organic recycling program has led to multiple rate increases and will officially begin for about 8,000 Long Beach homes in October.
After years of planning for the rollout of a mandatory organic recycling program, Long Beach announced that about 8,000 households will be part of the first phase of implementation starting in October.
The program will require residents to separate things like food waste, yard clippings and other compostable material into new green carts that will be delivered the week of Oct. 14, according to a city release.
Long Beach released an interactive map Wednesday to allow residents to look up their addresses to see if they're among the first cohort of homes that will be part of the organic recycling collection program.
The areas selected to be first are spread across the city and include two neighborhoods near Cal State Long Beach, Los Cerritos, Wrigley and parts of North Long Beach, according to the map.
The mandate was put in place by Senate Bill 1383, which was adopted in 2016 by the state legislature as a way to reduce methane being released into the atmosphere by diverting organic waste from landfills. The gas is estimated to be about 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat and the bill aimed to reduce that by 75% by 2025.
However, state legislators have passed multiple extensions to give cities time to comply with the new mandate by purchasing new trucks and collection bins and finding a place to send the organic waste to be processed into things like renewable fuel sources.
Long Beach has qualified for extensions but now plans to have every residential account enrolled in the program by the end of 2025.
“By launching the organics collection program, our City is taking a significant step towards a greener future and aligning with the state's broader efforts to combat climate change,” Mayor Rex Richardson said in a city release. “We encourage everyone to participate, stay informed, and help make Long Beach a leading example of environmental stewardship.”
CalRecycle, the state agency that will be enforcing the program, estimates that about 78% of communities in California now have residential organic waste programs in place.
The new green cans will be accompanied by new blue collection bins that will replace the purple recycling bins as part of a state effort to have uniformity for collection bins. The city said in the Wednesday release that residents should leave their purple bins out the week of Oct. 14 so they can be swapped out for the blue bins.
All bins are expected to be collected on the same pickup day, according to the release.
In order to pay for the program the city raised refused rates twice in 2023 but a larger increase is expected to be proposed once the residential organic recycling program is rolled out. The city has been working with a consultant to determine how big that increase will be but has not released a figure publicly.
The rate hikes were intended to pay for the new trucks needed to pick up the organic waste as well as hiring new drivers to service those routes.
The revenue will also pay for a team of employees who will be tasked with ensuring that organic waste is being properly separated. The state law calls on jurisdictions to fine account holders who aren’t properly sorting their waste and the city can be penalized by state regulators for not complying with the enforcement of the law.
The city said that it will also be launching a public awareness campaign including door-to-door visits, direct mail and a “neighborhood champion” initiative to get residents to reduce contamination once organic recycling pickup begins.
For more information on the organic recycling program click here.
