Upland reports progress on SB 1383 organics program: residential pail distribution, procurement targets and compliance evaluation underway

Tanya Garcia, Upland’s solid-waste management analyst, updated the Public Works Committee on July 8 about City implementation of SB 1383, California’s organic waste reduction and food-recovery law. Garcia said the city has rolled out residential and commercial programs, expanded outreach, and is tracking procurement of compost and mulch needed under the statute.

Why it matters: SB 1383 requires jurisdictions to reduce organic waste to landfills and to procure recovered-organics products. Noncompliance can result in state audits and fines; jurisdictions are subject to a jurisdictional compliance evaluation process administered by CalRecycle.

Implementation status and highlights

Garcia described a multi-pronged approach: residential outreach and distribution of free food-waste pails (nearly 4,000 distributed to date), a bagged-food-waste program (residents place food scraps in bags and deposit them in the green organics container), and expanded education (print materials, social media, workshops and planned digital placements at community locations).

On the commercial side, staff said tier 1 and tier 2 generators are implemented on a four-bin collection system where applicable, and waivers are processed for qualifying businesses. The city partners with certified food‑recovery organizations; KidCare International was named as 1 partner. Vert (hauler/contractor name appears in presentation in varying spellings) conducts route inspections and lid flips; staff emphasized an “education…