Updated October 20, 2021
Most people don’t realize the amount of food they throw away each day – from uneaten leftovers to old produce or food that could otherwise be recovered. As a result, Californians send 11.2 billion pounds of food to landfills annually, reducing space at the landfill and increasing greenhouse gas emissions that impact our environment.
In 2016, California passed into law requiring local jurisdictions to compost organic waste at the household level. This new law takes effect in 2022, and Roseville is developing a plan and program that will change how you dispose of your food scraps and how we can
address food insecurity as a community. This latest effort aims to reduce statewide organic waste disposal by 75 percent in 2025, which will help reduce methane gas – a significant contributor to the rise in Earth’s temperature.
A new approach to recycling food waste is being tested
Roseville customers will see a change in how they dispose of food waste. This is the most remarkable change to the trash and recycling industry in the last 30 years. Because of these changes, we are testing approaches before we launch a citywide program.
“We plan to roll out a new residential program in the last half of 2022 to comply with these new regulations,” Devin Whittington, waste services utility manager, said. “We are currently conducting the second of two pilot studies where we are testing out components of a possible citywide program. However, before we do anything scalable, we want to gain customer perspective and test approaches under real-world conditions.”
As part of the two pilot studies, customers receive a third bin for recycling, in addition to their trash bin and green waste bin. For example, food waste is collected in their kitchen using a countertop bucket, and it is then disposed of in the green waste bin, where it is picked up weekly. Another approach is to have customers place food waste into their trash and recycling bin to be separated later at the Materials Recovery Facility. No specific method has been selected, but staff plans to have a preferred option by year’s end.
“While Roseville hasn’t confirmed a new pick-up approach just yet, we know that to achieve compliance with the state regulation, we need to determine a sustainable and accessible pathway for the customer,” said Michelle White, recycling and organics coordinator. “The way people think about their trash will be very different, but we are testing scenarios to streamline the program once launched.”
How to recycle food from all trash and recycling customers
This new residential program comes on the heels of regulations passed in 2014 requiring commercial customers that generate food waste to source separate
back-of-the-house food scraps.
To date, Roseville recycles up to 50 tons of food waste from local businesses each week. And, soon, customers at fast-food and fast-casual restaurants will have to toss their uneaten food into a compost bin and separate it from food wrapping, cups, napkins, and utensils. This approach will significantly increase the diversion of food waste from landfills over time.
Addressing food insecurity while reducing impacts of climate change
To reduce the billions of pounds of food to landfills, Roseville must also assist with food recovery to feed those in need since some of the discarded food is still fresh. Roseville will coordinate with local food banks, soup kitchens, and food recovery organizations to address food insecurity in our community while also complying with regulations to cut food waste at the landfill.
Organic waste makes up more than 50 percent of what is sent to the landfill.
Diverting food waste through the residential and food insecurity programs helps significantly reduce the amount of organics landfilled, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, organic waste will be put to good use, becoming compostable soil. This resource is available for purchase at the landfill located at 3195 Athens Ave, Lincoln, CA 95648.