This California Senate Bill Will Reduce Food Waste
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, roughly 133 billion pounds and $161 billion worth of food was wasted at the retail and consumer level in 2010¹. The gas that food waste releases in the landfill is methane, a greenhouse gas that is approximately 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide². It is crucial for the survival of our environment that we reduce the amount of food wasted by every household and business. Within California’s government, the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) oversees the state's waste management, recycling, and waste reduction programs³.
Senate Bill 1383
In 2016, Senate Bill 1383 was passed which mandates organic waste collection, recycling and food recovery⁴. Having started in 2022, California requires all jurisdictions to provide organic waste collection services to all residents as well as educate them on collection requirements. Both residents and businesses are instructed to either subscribe to their jurisdiction’s collection services or self haul their organic waste, ensuring proper disposal of unused food⁵. All of these procedures are extremely important to put less organic waste into landfills all across California.
Targeted Uses of Food Waste
Senate Bill 1383 requires all cities and counties to obtain annual quantities of recovered organic waste in order to meet the procurement target. CalRecycle assigns different annual procurement targets depending on the jurisdiction’s population, which can be met through a variety of food recovery methods like procuring mulch or using food waste for renewable energy⁶. The city can also donate their waste to anaerobic digestion facilities, which produce renewable gas, electricity and heating.
Food Recovery for Residents In Need
In 2018, 4.3 million people residing in California didn’t have adequate food, and in May 2020, that number had doubled, partly because of the COVID-19 pandemic. These people could have had food to eat if we were actively recovering edible food waste, which is why Senate Bill 1383 demands that by 2025 California will have recovered 20% of edible food that would have been sent to landfills, to feed people in need. The law also states that jurisdictions have to create new food recovery programs as well as strengthen their existing ones to ensure many meals go to needy people, and not into landfills⁷.
Acting Now to Save Our Future
For a few years, California has been working hard to create laws that reduce our organic waste to prevent tons of methane from entering our already damaged atmosphere by encouraging residents and businesses to be more environmentally aware and friendly. If more states create bills and laws like this one, or spread awareness about food waste and how it can be reused and recycled, the United States as a whole can become better at being a healthier and more sustainable place to live.
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Mia Schlotman, Freshman
Terra Linda High School, Terra Linda, CA
Learn more about why food waste in the landfill is a problem here.
Works cited
¹ “United States 2030 Food Loss and Waste Reduction Goal.” Sustainable Management of Food.
² “Methane: A Crucial Opportunity in the Climate Fight.” Environmental Defense Fund. Accessed September 27, 2022.
³ “Calrecycle Home Page.” CalRecycle Home Page. State of California.
⁴ “California's Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy.” CalRecycle Home Page. State
of California. Accessed September 21, 2022.
⁵ “New Statewide Mandatory Organic Waste Collection.” CalRecycle Home Page. State of
California. Accessed September 24,
2022.
⁶ “Using Recycled Organics Products.” CalRecycle Home Page. State of California. Accessed September 24, 2022.
⁷ “Food Recovery in California.” CalRecycle Home Page. State of California. Accessed 24, 2022.
United States Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed September 22, 2022.
