SB1383, which was signed into law in September 2016, establishes targets to achieve reductions in the landfilling of organic waste of 50% in 2022 and 75% by 2025 from 2014 levels. It also sets a goal to rescue at least 20% of currently disposed edible food by 2025 and redirect that food to people in need.
Tier One and Tier Two Commercial Edible Food Generators
SB 1383 places commercial edible food generators into two tiers to allow businesses and jurisdictions time to expand or build new food recovery infrastructure and capacity to donate foods that are harder to safely store and distribute.
- Tier One generators include supermarkets, grocery stores, food service providers, food distributors, and wholesale food vendors. Edible food waste generated from these sites include fresh produce, meat, dairy, eggs, packaged foods, and a small amount of prepared foods.
- Tier Two generators include large hospitals, hotels, large venues, large events, large restaurants, large state agency facilities, and schools with an on-site food facility. Edible food generated from these sites will be mostly prepared foods, some packaged food, and small quantities of whole foods.
Implementation Dates
Based on the tier system, businesses must either sign up for organics recycling services or donate their food waste to a food bank or nonprofit organization by the following dates: January 1, 2022 for Tier Ones and January 1, 2024 for Tier Twos.
Other Options For Diverting Food Waste from Landfills
Donate Excess Backyard Fruit
Food Forward is a non-profit, volunteer-powered group that picks fruit and donates 100% of it to local food pantries. Fruit harvested goes to local food banks. Call (818) 530-4125 or visit http://foodforward.org for details or to register your fruit tree.
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