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Nevada County approves SB 1383 contract amendments, sets January 2025 organics rollout
Summary
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve an amended agreement with Waste Management to implement SB 1383 organics collection countywide, including weekly organics service, contamination monitoring and a phased cart rollout aimed to begin January 2025. Staff said rate impacts will vary by existing service.
Nevada County supervisors voted to approve an amended and restated agreement with Waste Management that implements state-mandated SB 1383 organics collection and establishes related rates and enforcement practices.
Public Works Director David Garcia told the board the amendment is intended to meet SB 1383 compliance while minimizing disproportionate impacts on low-income residents. "SB 1383 does require that we provide a 3-cart collection service," Garcia said, outlining plans to convert the county's green-waste program to a weekly organics service, expand truck routes and distribute carts.
Staff said the amendment assumes all county material will be processed at the Austin Road landfill facility and that weekly organics collection will require about 3.38 additional trucks and other operational changes. Garcia summarized expected residential rate impacts: "If you do not currently have green-waste service, the increase would range between $7 and $13 per month. If you do have green-waste service, the rate increase ranges from $0 to $6.38 per month." He also said the county negotiated senior and low-income rates to reduce financial burdens on fixed-income households.
Waste Management Director Eric Lynch explained contamination monitoring: trucks take images of material dumped into hoppers and operators will assess contamination in the open stream rather than by opening trash bags. The county will use a 10 percent contamination threshold at the processing site and impose a $10 penalty per contamination occurrence only after three documented education and outreach contacts.
Garcia said parts of the county — most of eastern Nevada County and some low‑density areas including Nevada City — qualify for SB 1383 exemptions (elevation and low population density), which alters local collection requirements. He said customers without curbside access will receive a tailored rate for community-stop service that omits cart costs.
The board asked about education and rollout logistics. Garcia said the county received an SB 1383 grant for outreach, has added staff for education and will coordinate postcards, digital notices and joint communications with Waste Management. Waste Management said carts take roughly 60 days to arrive once ordered and projected a coordinated education campaign through December to support a January 6, 2025 service launch.
After public comment and discussion, the board moved, seconded and approved the amendment. The roll call returned a unanimous yes from the five districts. The action authorizes Waste Management to begin ordering carts and trucks and starts the county's operational timeline toward the January 2025 target.
The county emphasized that the program includes a phased education-first approach to enforcement and that disputes over contamination penalties can be reviewed by county staff who will request documentation from Waste Management before any fine is applied.
