South Pasadena, Athens Services roll out mandatory three-stream collection under SB 1383

The City of South Pasadena, in partnership with Athens Services, is transitioning to a mandatory three-stream waste collection system requiring residents and businesses to separate trash, recyclables and organic materials into black, blue and green containers, the city announced.

City officials said the change implements requirements of California Senate Bill 1383, which mandates statewide organics collection and diversion of edible food from landfills. The announcement said the city and Athens Services will provide new carts and containers to residents and commercial customers as part of the rollout.

Under the change, households that receive manual barrel service will continue to have barrels collected where they are placed on the property and will keep their existing collection day for all three waste streams. Athens will supply new 32-gallon wheeled barrels with handles and heavy-duty lids: black for trash, blue for recyclables and green for organics. Athens will provide up to seven barrels per household at no charge; additional barrels beyond seven will incur fees.

Commercial and multifamily properties that use trash bins will receive new carts or bins for recyclables and organic waste. The city said commercial customers will receive a complimentary 96-gallon blue recycling cart and must subscribe to mandatory organics service; the announcement did not specify whether subscription is automatic or requires affirmative sign-up.

The city noted that while the trash collection day will remain the same, recycling and organics pickups may occur on different days. The organics collection service will be added at an additional cost to customers, and higher levels of recycling service will also incur added charges. Athens recycling coordinators conducted outreach to commercial and multifamily properties and provided customized service-level recommendations, the announcement said.

The city described the materials accepted in each stream: green containers for organic waste including food scraps, green waste and food-soiled paper; blue containers for recyclables such as cardboard, paper, plastics #1, #2 and #5, glass bottles and jars, tin and aluminum cans; and black containers for all other materials. The announcement listed common nonrecyclable items for the black cart, including plastic bags, juice pouches, chip bags, ceramics, styrofoam, diapers and pet waste. The city directed customers to the Athens interactive recycling guide at canirecyclemy.com for a full breakdown of acceptable materials.

The announcement closed by advising customers to contact Athens Services or visit the city website for more information; the transcript did not specify an effective date for the new collection rules or the subscription process for organics service.