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Talking Trash: Recyclables and Organic Waste <br />INVESTIGATION AND ANALYSIS <br />Overview of SB 1383 <br />SB 1383 set ambitious targets for reducing organic waste disposal in landfills from the <br />2014 baseline: fifty percent by January 2020 (which was not met), and seventy-five <br />percent by January 2025. Organic waste comprises more than half the waste stream in <br />California and includes green waste, wood, food waste, and fibers such as paper and <br />cardboard. When left to decompose in landfills, organic waste releases large amounts <br />of methane gas. The overall goal of the bill is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at <br />least four million metric tons per year by 2030 by requiring that "organics" going to the <br />landfill be reduced to 5.7 million metric tons by 2025. <br />This groundbreaking legislation is a statewide effort to reduce Short -Lived Climate <br />Pollutants (SLCPs). SLCPs such as methane, black carbon, tropospheric (ground level) <br />ozone, and hydrofluorocarbons remain in the atmosphere for a shorter time than carbon <br />dioxide but have a much stronger warming effect. Therefore, reducing SLCPs has the <br />potential to significantly slow global climate change in the near term (California Air <br />Resources Board, 2024). The State's efforts and policies are intended to substantially <br />increase the rate of organic material diversion away from landfills. This diversion goal is <br />meant to move the State towards the desired "circular economy" where organic waste is <br />collected, converted into new materials or products, and reused for other purposes. <br />Jan. 2019 January 1, 2025 <br />September <br />2016 <br />SQ 1383 <br />Adopted <br />2016-2019 2020 2021 <br />Figure 1 <br />Jan. 1, 2022 <br />MEMMEr— <br />Source: CalRecycle <br />2023-2024 Orange County Grand Jury Page 6 <br />