Del Norte launches community planning to meet SB 1383; residents push for local composting, food rescue and digesters

A special session of the Del Norte Solid Waste Task Force convened to begin community planning to meet California Senate Bill 1383's organic-waste reduction requirements, with residents and local agencies pressing for more local composting, food rescue and anaerobic digestion capacity.

Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority Director Ted Ward told the kickoff meeting that SB 1383 aims to “reduce short-lived climate pollutants, particularly methane” from landfill disposal of food and yard materials, and outlined tasks for rural jurisdictions including edible-food recovery, education and procurement of recycled products. Ward said the county has already taken steps on edible-food recovery and recycled paper procurement and noted the planning process is being supported by an OWR4 grant.

The task force framed the effort as a multi-stage community process. Facilitators from the Del Norte and Tribal Lands Community Food Council said this meeting is the first of six public sessions that will produce a draft plan and, later, a recommended final plan for the Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority and the county board to consider.

Why it matters: SB 1383 is a statewide mandate to reduce methane from organics in landfills; Del Norte will need local facilities, collection strategies and coordination across agencies to comply. Residents and nonprofits emphasized that locally produced compost and a functioning food-rescue network would provide both climate benefits and community food security.

Key points from the meeting

- Responsibilities and timeline: Ward emphasized that the law assigns duties across multiple entities — the Solid Waste Management Authority, the county board of supervisors and city councils — and that some urban collection requirements do not apply to rural jurisdictions immediately. He described a phased community schedule that seeks to move the county toward compliance between 2026 and 2040.

- Existing activity and funding: Ward noted prior work on edible-food recovery and recycled-paper purchasing and identified an OWR4 grant that is funding community planning and some implementation resources.

- Possible facilities and constraints: Options discussed included home and community composting, in-vessel (anaerobic) digesters, a potential resource-recovery park on 2.5 acres adjacent to the county transfer station, and a possible northern transfer station to serve communities north of Crescent City. Ward cautioned that transporting compost or feedstock more than about 30 miles typically consumes any revenue generated from finished compost, which limits regional hauling options.

- Yurok digesters and capacity concerns: Representatives of the Yurok Tribe said they have installed an on-site anaerobic digester at the Klamath Food Village and have two more units planned for upriver communities. Koya (Yurok pollution-prevention manager) said the tribe poured a pad large enough “to daisy chain a couple of them together” but that the tribe will initially prioritize local Klamath waste and potential large salmon-carcass deliveries from a Fish & Wildlife agreement that could substantially use available digester capacity.

- Community priorities and barriers: Public commenters — including school-district staff, food-bank volunteers, farmers and compost operators — repeatedly called for: (1) reliable, affordable sources of finished compost for gardens and farms; (2) easier access to collection or drop-off for green waste; (3) expanded edible-food rescue with paid staffing; (4) education and outreach (including school-based programs); and (5) attention to pests and safety (bears, raccoons and rodents) and odor control for larger facilities.

- Operational lessons: Joel Wallen of Hambro Waste Solutions Group, which operated a local composting facility in the past, said ongoing production costs exceeded sales. "We were selling [a] cubic yard for $35, and it was costing us about $85 to produce it," Wallen said, explaining why Hambro stopped producing compost at scale.

- Technical innovations and local ideas: Attendees suggested a range of smaller-scale and specialty approaches — vermiculture (worms), black soldier fly larvae, mushroom cultivation, rabbit manure for high-value compost, and localized digesters — and urged pilot projects and subcommittees to explore feasibility.

Formal action

The task force approved a correction to the minutes and accepted the corrected minutes by voice vote. The transcript records an uncredited motion to accept the corrected minutes, a second, and a voice vote in favor; Chair Craig Strong and Joel Wallen (online) were recorded as voting "aye." The motion was recorded as approved; mover and seconder were not identified in the transcript.

What participants said

- Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority Director Ted Ward: "SB 1383 is intended to reduce short-lived climate pollutants, particularly methane," and he urged that the planning process be inclusive so the Authority can rely on the community's priorities.

- Joel Wallen, Hambro Waste Solutions Group: "It was costing us about $85 to produce it" (referring to the prior local compost operation's per-cubic-yard cost).

- Community members and agency representatives urged free or subsidized compost-bin distribution, ongoing education rather than one-off workshops, better staffing for food rescue, and targeted outreach to large food generators (restaurants, big-box stores, and institutions).

Next steps and follow-up

Facilitators said the process will include five additional community meetings, formation of subcommittees (suggested areas: food rescue/redistribution; community composting and gardens; animal-feed/animal-husbandry pathways; facility siting and permitting; and fire-hazard vegetation management), and a draft plan for public review. The meeting organizers will circulate a Doodle poll and an online evaluation; they also plan outreach to restaurants and major food generators that were underrepresented at the kickoff.

The task force adjourned with organizers collecting the group’s SWOT worksheets and a request that anyone who did not sign in complete the meeting sign-in sheet. A subsequent regular meeting of the Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority was announced for Feb. 20 (a separate agenda item), and the SB 1383 planning group’s next community meeting date will be set by poll.