Digging into the Composting Law in Glendale, California

The new composting law in Glendale, California, went into effect on January 1st, 2022, but are you doing it right? We’re going to break it all down right here.

*This piece contains two affiliate links that you can use or discard as you like.

What is the new Composting Law?

Senate Bill 1383 was designed to reduce waste in landfills by asking that you dispose of “organic material” into trash bins used for garden trimmings and leaves. Essentially doing this will result in recycling your organic material without you having to do any composting yourself.

What is considered Organic Material?

Organic Material includes all food scraps, coffee grounds, and filters; bones from meat, poultry, and seafood (softshell only); paper products like bags, cups, napkins, and even plates. I was shocked to learn that paper products were part of the mix, but since they are derived from plants, they can be broken down. So that means even pesky Amazon packaging can be included (just break the boxes down as much as you can to speed up the composting process).

How do I dispose of Organic Materials?

As of April 1st, 2022, in Glendale, California, you can now dispose of organic materials in the brown or green bin generally reserved for just yard trimmings. While this sounds easy on the surface, it will involve adding one more garbage container to your home. If you are short on space, I love this EcoCrock Counter Compost Bin from Amazon (not an affiliate link). There’s also a list of 16 Indoor Compost Bins here, including electric and worm options if you want something different. Lastly, you can just fill a clear plastic bag with your organic waste and then throw away everything in the green waste bin. This was confirmed with the city of Glendale Recycling Program as it’s the option most people have most readily available.

Personally, the idea of throwing a plastic bag away in the green waste bin seems counterproductive, so I like using Compostable Bags from Repurpose instead. You can purchase a Small Bin Bag Bundle of 200 bags for $34.00. That’s almost a year of bags! Enter the code EATDRINKLA15, and you’ll get an additional 15% off that too.

How can I further reduce Food Waste?

Instead of purchasing your groceries at a traditional marketplace, you can choose an online retailer like Misfits Market that “rescues misfit produce” and works directly with farmers and organic food producers to pass the savings on to consumers by selling their surplus goods.

Two tips I like from Daniel Litwin, the VP of Procurement at Misfits Market, to reduce food waste include: First In, First Out, and Water is your friend. The first tip means to consume foods in the order they were purchased, meaning use the oldest items soonest and the newest foods last. The second tip involves using water to revive dry or limp vegetables instead of discarding them.

Follow these two tips well enough, and you might not even need to follow the composting law in Glendale, California – because you’ll be at zero food waste!