Breaking Down California’s Composting Law
In January 2022, a new organics recycling mandate went into effect requiring all California residences and businesses to compost to offset methane emissions, a direct approach to battle climate change. Food waste accounts for 21% of landfill waste. When discarded in a landfill, that organic waste produces and releases methane into the atmosphere, a greenhouse gas linked to rising temperatures. California’s goal is to compost 75% of organic waste by 2025.
Compostable waste includes organic food scraps, eggshells, coffee grounds, natural tea bags, all plant matter, and shredded paper products. When organic waste is sent to a facility, methane can be captured and turned into biogas, an energy source, as opposed to a greenhouse gas. Additionally, our food waste is converted into a nutrient rich soil for use on farms. This diversification of the soil will aid in water retention.
To sum it up, composting is a circular system that helps our environment by lowering temperatures and aids in drought prevention, creates natural energy to power cars and homes, and keeps us healthy by feeding nutrients to our crops.
The mandate has been slow to take hold with many Angelenos entirely unaware of it. One of South Park’s first residences to adopt a compost bin was Packard Lofts. Christian Taboada, Packard’s property manager, grew up in a composting and sustainability-forward home. His interests spurred him to implement a recycling program at Packard as soon as he took the job over a decade ago.
In June 2021 Packard’s recycling service, Nasa, reached out about the changing law and their new composting service, Christian enrolled immediately. Every unit was provided with a small bin which fits under the sink, or my personal preference, the lowest level of the freezer. These bins are then emptied into a large compost bin on the ground floor which Nasa collects. Christian said there was initially some unawareness and questions from residents. He enjoys talking about composting and finds that overall the initiative moved forward.
Now that we love composting, what can South Park residents who don’t have a green bin do? Your best option is to contact your resident manager about installing a communal bin. Insist on a compost bin!
I sought additional advice from Leo Klemm, compost manager at Chinatown’s Solano community garden. The community garden currently composts about 1,000 pounds of food scraps from local restaurants weekly, and this Fall will introduce a public compost program.
Leo suggests visiting www.lacompost.org for drop-off locations, local farmers markets that accept food scraps, and community workshops on composting.
California residents have until 2024 to comply. That’s when rule-breakers will face fines from $50 to $500. We’d love to hear about your composting journey in the blog comments at www.spna-dtla.org !
By Aileen Coyle