San Diego rolls out new food waste recycling program

In response to a new state law requiring Californians to recycle food scraps and other related items, the city of San Diego will be issuing green bins to households and businesses as it rolls out a new food waste recycling program.

“Every [food waste] generator will get a green bin and it will be for their yard trimmings and nonhazardous wood waste, as well as food material and food-soiled paper,” Ken Prue, deputy director of the city’s environmental services department, told Fox 5.

All Californians will be required to recycle organic items, such as pieces of vegetable, bread, coffee grounds and any scraps you generate while preparing food.

Some neighborhoods have already been using the green bins for yard trimmings and wood. Up to 240,000 receptacles will be delivered to city neighborhoods by Jan. 1, when the new rules go into effect.

The implementation of the new green bins will help bring the city into compliance with two state laws that mandate recycling by local governments: AB 1826, which requires the organic recycling, and AB 341, which mandates 75 percent of discarded material be recycled.

The bins will be picked up weekly once the program is up and running. Prue said the efforts will help lengthen the life of local landfills and decrease the amount of hazardous gases released when food scraps end up at the dump.