Commercial Recycling

Click Here For Mandatory Commercial Recycling Brochure

San Joaquin County prides itself on being a green, sustainable community. As a county, we have already achieved and surpassed California’s 50 percent waste diversion mandate, and are well on our way to meeting the 75 percent mandate before the 2020 deadline. As we look forward, new regulatory drivers, such as Assembly Bill 341 and Assembly Bill 1826, will provide the groundwork for an even more sustainable future.

Further increasing the reduction, reuse and recycling of waste in our community means that everyone will have to pitch in and re-evaluate their disposal methods. Commercial and multi-family properties, generating nearly 75% of the solid waste in California, have the greatest opportunity to reduce our waste impact. Much of this waste—consisting of 50% recyclables and 35% food waste, green waste, and other organics—can be recycled into valuable new goods and materials. For this reason, businesses and multi-family dwellings of five or more units have been required since 2012 to collect recycling, and will soon need to plan to add organics (food and green waste) recycling to their operations.

The current compliance requirements for each law are:

Law	Jan 1, 2017	Jan 1, 2019
AB 341 - Mandatory Commercial Recycling	4 Cubic Yards per week of Trash	4 Cubic Yards per week of Trash
AB 1826 - Mandatory Organics Recycling	4 Cubic Yards per week of Organics	4 Cubic Yards per week of Trash

AB 341 - FAQ - Mandatory Commercial Recycling (MCR)

Question	Answer
What is the purpose of the State law, AB 341?	To reduce greenhouse emissions by diverting commercial and multi-family residential organic waste through organics recycling. This will keep valuable materials out of landfills and create jobs.
How will this State law impact my business or property?	Establishing a recycling program can provide an opportunity for businesses to reduce the cost of their refuse collection.
What do I need to do to comply?	Determine the best location and how much space you’ll need for the collection of recyclables. Review your refuse collection service agreement and contact your service provider. Assess options for decreasing your quantity of organic waste. Consider changes to operations that could reduce recyclable waste at the source. Determine your property’s space needs and location for the collection of recyclable materials. Review your hauler service agreements and contact your hauler to set up recycling service. If you are a business, depending upon your waste stream, you may also arrange for pickup of your materials by an independent recycler. Prepare for adding recycling to your business’s operations. Add recycling containers to your facility. Train staff to separate recyclables from waste. Get signs and flyers to help in education of staff.
I have limited space for containers. How do I comply?	If a private hauler provides your refuse collection, contact your hauler for assistance. They can help you in providing smaller trash containers and adjusting your service levels so that recycling containers can be added.
Will my collection schedule change?	Establishing a recycling program will divert recyclables from your waste stream. You may be able to reduce the frequency of service for your business or multi-family complex. Consult with your service provider to determine your collection needs

AB 341 - Information for Commercial and Multifamily Complexes

Properties with private-hauler waste collection: All private haulers permitted by the County provide recycling services. Contact your private hauler for assistance. Currently, 6 private haulers are permitted to operate in the County of San Joaquin.

LIST OF HAULERS

Compliance Tips:

Determine your space needs and location for the collection of recyclables.
Review your hauler service agreements and contact your hauler.
Add recycling instructions to your rental agreements.
Secure your recycling bins or carts to discourage scavenging of recyclables.
Download communication materials HERE to educate your building’s tenants.

AB 341 - Information for Private Refuse Haulers

Based on a CalRecycle study, the commercial sector generates nearly 75% of the solid waste in California.*

Effective July 1, 2012, any business or public entity that generates four or more cubic yards of commercial waste per week is required to recycle.

Segment	Requirements for Private Haulers
Commercial Properties	Haulers must provide separate containers for recyclables for their commercial-sector customers. Haulers are responsible for maintaining recycling containers by keeping them in good working order, clean of residue and graffiti-free. Haulers must provide information regarding commodities/materials accepted for recycling, collection schedule, and hauler contact information. Haulers must provide information to the County of San Joaquin Department of Public Works regarding the implementation of recycling services and collection of recycled materials. County staff may periodically visit commercial properties to ensure that the contracted hauler is in compliance with all requirements.
Multi Family Complexes	Haulers must recycle the same commodities/materials that the County’s residential recycling program currently accepts. Haulers are responsible for maintaining organics containers by keeping them in good working order, clean of residue and graffiti-free. Haulers must provide information regarding commodities / materials accepted for recycling, collection schedule, and hauler contact information. Haulers must provide information to the County of San Joaquin Department of Public Works regarding the implementation of organics recycling services and collection of organic waste. County staff will periodically visit multi-family complex properties to ensure that the contracted hauler is in compliance with all requirements

* CalRecycle 2008 Statewide Waste Characterization data

Mandatory Commercial Recycling (MCR) – The Law

Effective July 1, 2012, State law AB 341 made recycling mandatory for commercial and multifamily complexes with five (5) or more units. ( Link to PDF of AB 341)

AB 1826 - FAQ - Mandatory Organics Recycling (MORe)

Question	Answer
What is organic waste?	Organic waste, as defined in AB 1826, includes the following materials: food waste, green waste, landscape and pruning waste, nonhazardous wood waste, and food-soiled paper.
What is organics recycling?	Organic material can be processed in several ways to create a variety of valuable products. Composting, mulching, anaerobic digestion, and rendering are examples of “recycling” organics.
What is the purpose of the new State law, AB 1826?	To reduce greenhouse emissions by diverting commercial and multi-family residential organic waste through organics recycling. This will keep valuable materials out of landfills and create jobs.
How will this State law impact my business or property?	Establishing an organics recycling program can provide an opportunity for businesses to reduce the cost of their refuse collection.
What do I need to do to comply?	Contact your refuse hauler for assistance in determining how many cubic yards of organic waste per week your business generates. This will determine when you will need to comply with AB 1826. If your business generates eight or more cubic yards of organic waste: Assess options for decreasing your quantity of organic waste. Consider changes to operations that could reduce organic waste at the source, or participation in a food donation/rescue program. Work with your neighborhood food bank to donate extra food products. Determine your property’s space needs and location for the collection of organics. Review your hauler service agreements and contact your hauler to set up organics recycling service. Prepare for adding organics recycling to your business’s operations. Add organics recycling containers to your facility. Train staff to separate organic waste. Get signs and flyers to help in education of staff. Add organics recycling to your waste operations by April 1, 2016.
I have limited space for containers. How do I comply?	If a private hauler provides your refuse collection, contact your hauler for assistance. They can help you in providing smaller trash containers and adjusting your service levels so that organics recycling containers can be added.
Will my collection schedule change?	Establishing an organics recycling program will divert organics from your waste stream. You may be able to reduce the frequency of refuse service for your business. Consult with your hauler to determine your collection needs.

AB 1826 - Information for Private Refuse Haulers

Based on a study by CalRecycle, the commercial sector generates nearly 75% of the solid waste in California.*

Effective April 1, 2016, any business that generates eight or more cubic yards of organic waste per week will be required to implement organic waste diversion strategies.

Segment	Requirements for Private Haulers
Commercial Properties	Haulers must make regularly scheduled or on-call organics recycling service available to commercial accounts that request it. Haulers must provide separate containers for organics for their commercial-sector customers. Haulers are responsible for maintaining organics containers by keeping them in good working order, clean of residue and graffiti-free. Haulers must provide their commercial customers with information regarding materials accepted for organics recycling, collection schedule, and hauler contact information. Haulers must divert organic materials generated from these accounts in a manner specified by the State of California. Haulers must provide information to the County of San Joaquin Department of Public Works regarding the implementation of organics recycling services and collection of organic waste. County staff will periodically visit commercial properties to ensure that the contracted hauler is in compliance with all requirements.
Multi Family Complexes	Haulers must make regularly scheduled or on-call organics recycling service available to multi-family complexes that request it. Haulers must provide separate containers for organics for their multi-family complex customers. Haulers are responsible for maintaining organics containers by keeping them in good working order, clean of residue and graffiti-free. Haulers must provide their multi-family complex customers with information regarding materials accepted for organics recycling, collection schedule, and hauler contact information. Haulers must divert organic materials generated from these accounts in a manner specified by the State of California. Haulers must provide information to the County of San Joaquin Department of Public Works regarding the implementation of organics recycling services and collection of organic waste. County staff will periodically visit multi-family complex properties to ensure that the contracted hauler is in compliance with all requirements

* CalRecycle 2008 Statewide Waste Characterization data.

AB 1826 - Key Dates for Commercial Properties

According to AB 1826, commercial properties are required to comply with the law as follows:

Key Date	Requirement
April 1, 2016	Businesses that generate eight (8) or more cubic yards of organic waste must arranged organics recycling service for organic material.
January 1, 2017	Businesses that generate four (4) or more cubic yards of organic waste must arranged organics recycling service for organic material.
January 1, 2019	Businesses that generate four (4) or more cubic yards of solid waste must arranged organics recycling service for organic material.
Fall of 2020	After receipt of the 2019 annual reports submitted on August 1, 2020, CalRecycle shall conduct its formal review of all jurisdictions.
Summer/Fall 2021	If CalRecycle determines that the statewide disposal of organic waste in 2020 has not been reduced by 50 percent of the level of disposal during 2014, the organic recycling requirements on businesses will expand to cover businesses that generate two (2) cubic yards or more of commercial solid waste per week. Additionally certain exemptions, previously discussed, may no longer be available if this target is not met.

AB 1826 - Key Dates for Multifamily Complexes

Key Date	Requirement
April 1, 2016	Any multi-family residential property with five (5) or more units that generates eight or more cubic yards of green waste, landscaping/pruning waste and wood waste per week will be required to implement organic waste diversion strategies. Multifamily dwellings are NOT required to arrange for source-separated food waste collection under this law.

Mandatory Organics Recycling (MORe) - The Law

Effective April 1, 2016, State law AB 1826 will require certain commercial and multifamily complexes of 5 or more to arrange for organics recycling services. ( Link to PDF of AB 1826) AB 1826 adds organic waste diversion requirements to businesses and multifamily dwellings of five or more units that generate large quantities of waste. Multi-family complexes of 5 or more are not required to arrange for source-separated food waste collection under this law. Multifamily complexes are only required to recycle green waste and non-hazardous wood waste.

Commercial Recycling Links

For more details on Commercial Single Stream or Commercial Organics Recycling, please visit the following pages:


City	Commercial Recycling	Commercial Organics Recycling
Escalon	Click Here	Click Here

Lathrop	Click Here

Lodi	Click Here

Manteca	Click Here

Ripon	Click Here

Stockton	Click Here

Tracy	Click Here	Click Here

For more details on services provided by collectors, please contact the collectors at:

Collector	Phone Number	Web Page
California Waste Recovery	(209) 369-6887	Click Here

Gilton Solid Waste Management	(209) 527-3781	Click Here

Republic Services / Delta Disposal	(209) 466-5192	Click Here

Tracy Delta Solid Waste Management	(209) 835-0601	Click Here

Waste Management / Stockton Scavenger	(209) 946-5711	Click Here

For details on the law, please visit the web pages from the State of California, Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle):

For Information on:
Commercial Single Stream Recycling (AB 341)	Click Here

Commercial Organics Recycling	Click Here

Waste Characterization Study	Click Here

For information on how to develop a more sustainable food management program, visit the US EPA, Click Here.