Senate Bill (SB) 1383 requires all California single-family residences, multi-family residences, and businesses to divert organic and recyclable materials from the landfill. All properties are required to subscribe to organic and recycling collection services through their solid waste hauler or demonstrate that the divertible material is being hauled to a composting or recycling facility.

As of January 1, 2022, it is illegal to place organic or recyclable materials into trash containers in California. Organic materials include food waste, food-soiled papers, plant debris, and untreated, non-painted wood. Assistance with compliance is available through the City of Tulare's Solid Waste Division and enforcement with potential penalties begins January 1, 2024. Click on the City of Tulare's SB 1383 Flyer for more information.

Who Does this Impact?

• Single-Family Residences, Condos, Townhomes
• Multi-Family Residences with five (5) or more units
• Commercial Businesses
• Public and Private Schools

What do these regulations mean for residents?

Sorting waste into appropriate containers and having access to recycling and organic waste collection has been a requirement for many years in Tulare. The new state regulations under SB 1383 Short Lived Climate Pollutants will require some changes to the way that residents manage their waste streams. Residents will be affected in three (3) ways by SB 1383:

1. Recycling and Organic Collection: Residents will be required to have organic and recycling collection services or self-haul organic and recyclable materials to the appropriate facility. The City of Tulare offers organic and recycling services as part of the regular trash collection service.
2. Sort Organic and Recyclable Materials: Organic and recyclable materials may not be disposed of in regular trash. These materials must be sorted out for composting or recycling.
3. Contamination Monitoring: Under SB 1383 regulations, the City of Tulare is required to monitor ALL collection routes for contamination to be sure that waste is being sorted properly. This means you might see City staff looking into your trash, recycling, and/or organic can when they are out on the street for collection. If waste is not sorted properly, a contamination warning tag may be left on the can with information on how to sort your waste into the correct containers. Nothing will be removed from your cans during these inspections, and cans will NOT be serviced until the contaminants are removed. If you have concerns about sensitive items in your trash or recycling can, please consider additional steps to keep information secure, including shredding papers and scratching out personal information. The City of Tulare Solid Waste Division offers two (2) shredding events per year, generally in the spring and fall.

Avoid Getting Fined

The City of Tulare Solid Waste Division does issue fines for repeated contamination issues. As stated above, the Solid Waste Division will issue a warning tag about recorded contamination. If additional contamination issues are recorded on the same account, Solid Waste will issue contamination fines:

1. For a first violation, the amount of the base fine shall be $50 per violation.
2. For a second violation, the amount of the base fine shall be $100 per violation.
3. For a third violation or subsequent violations, the amount of the base fine shall be $250 per violation.

Food Recovery

SB 1383 requires certain food generators to prevent excess food from being landfilled or composted by increasing the quantity donated to food organizations and services. The law is designed to reduce the production of methane, which contributes to climate change, and will help the state meet its climate targets by:

• Reducing statewide disposal of organic materials by 50% in 2020 and 75% by 2025. Please click on Food Scraps for a list of the materials that can be composted in a City of Tulare green organics can. 
• SB 1383 provides CalRecycle the regulatory authority to achieve the organic waste disposal targets and establishes an additional target that not less than 20% of edible food that currently disposed of be recovered for human consumption by 2025. For more information, please go to California’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy.
• For more information on commercial food waste, click here Commercial Food Waste Program
• For tips on preventing food waste, click here Preventing Food Waste English/Spanish

Food Recovery Requirements

SB 1383 requires that at least 20% of disposed of edible food be recovered for human consumption by 2025. 

Californians send approximately 11.2 billion pounds of food to landfills each year! Some of that food could have been recovered to feed hungry people. Recovering edible food for donation not only helps feed hungry people but it also helps clean our environment and community. SB 1383 states that:

• Jurisdictions establish a food recovery program and strengthen existing recovery networks.
• Edible food generators that qualify as a Tier 1 or Tier 2 Generator (see definition below) are required to recover the maximum amount of edible food.
• Food recovery organizations and services that accept food donations must maintain records. 

Definitions

Edible Food is considered food intended for human consumption, including food not sold due to appearance, age, freshness, grade, size, and surplus. Edible food includes, but is not limited to, produce, packaged foods, and prepared food that has been kept within safe temperature zones and not served or placed out for a buffet. 

Tier 1 Edible Food Generators are required to comply with SB 1383 edible food donation requirements as of January 1, 2022 and include the following business:

• Wholesale Food Vendors
• Food Distributors
• Food Service Providers
• Supermarkets
• Grocery Stores (10,000 sq. ft. or more)

Tier 2 Edible Food Generators are required to comply with SB 1383 edible food donation requirements by January 1, 2024 and include the following businesses:

• Hotels with an on-site food facility and 200+ rooms
• Restaurants greater than 5,000 sq. ft. or 250+ seats
• Health Facilities with an on-site food facility and 100+ beds
• State Agency Cafeterias
• Large Venues and Events
• Local Education Agencies

Food Recovery Organization is an entity that engages in the collection of or receipt of edible food from commercial generators and distributes the edible food to the public for food recovery. A food recovery organization can include a food bank, a non-profit charity, and a charitable temporary food organization. 

Food Recovery Service is a person or entity that collects and transports edible food from a commercial food generator to a food recovery organization. 

Click here for the Commercial Edible Food Donation informational flyer.

Food Recovery Organizations

• Safely recover the maximum amount of edible food to feed community members
• Create a written agreement with edible food generators. Click here Food Recovery Organizations and Services for a model written agreement from CalRecycle.

Local Food Recovery Organizations:

Tulare Church of the Nazarene Compassion Center - Trina 559-280-8663

1929 E Bardsley Ave. , Tulare; services available for City of Tulare residents

Central California Food Bank - Shelbe Vanzwol 559-237-3663 Ext. 1118

4010 E Amendola Dr., Fresno; multiple distribution locations throughout the valley 

Visalia Emergency Aid Food Pantry - Christina Guerrero 559-732-0101

217 NE 3rd Ave. Visalia; contact for additional information 

Bethlehem Center - Anna Hernandez 559-734-1572

1638 N Dinuba Blvd., Visalia; contact for additional information 

Food Link Tulare County - Andrea Kelly 559-651-3663

611 2nd St., Exeter; multiple distribution locations throughout the valley 

Additionally, here is a link to the Tulare County 211 Food Pantries website and a link to the California Association of Food Banks Locator Tool. 

Food Pantry Calendar for Tulare: March 2026 Food Pantry Calendar

Donor Liability Information

The following laws provide donor liability protection:

Federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act: A person or gleaner shall not be subject to civil or criminal liability arising from the nature, age, packaging, or condition of apparently wholesome food or an apparently fit grocery product that the person or gleaner donates in good faith to a non-profit organization for ultimate distribution to needy individuals. This section shall not be construed to create any liability. Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede State or local health regulations.

California Good Samaritan Food Donation Act (AB 1219): Provides liability protections for entities that make good faith donations of surplus food. The law clarifies and expands liability protections for donated surplus food by:

• Creating a more comprehensive list of entities covered by the law
• Explicitly states that donation of past-date food is subject to liability protection
• Expands liability protection to donations made by food facilities, which are subject to food safety regulations and regular inspections, directly to individuals for consumption (direct donation).

Resources

All food donations must meet the food safety requirements of the California Retail Food Program.

For more information on safe surplus food donation and food safety, please visit the California Conference of Directors of Environmental Health website.

The Safe Surplus Food Toolkit provides guidance for food facilities on best donation practices.

The Restaurant Food Waste Action Guide provides information to restaurants about food waste solutions, including prioritizing prevention, recovery, and then, recycling. 

Waivers

Certain businesses may qualify for a limited-term waiver. To request a waiver, please see qualifications below. If your business can demonstrate it meets the waiver qualifications, complete and return a City of Tulare Program Exemption Application.

1. Non-Generation of Recyclable Materials: If your business does not generate ANY recyclable materials and generates less than four (4) cubic yards of waste or your multi-family residence has less than five (5) units, you may qualify for an exemption from California's Mandatory Commercial Recycling Law (AB 341). 
2. De Minimis Volume: If your business generates less than 20 gallons of organic waste per week with total solid waste generated greater than or equal to two (2) cubic yards or your business generates less than 10 gallons of organic waste per week with total solid waste generated less than two (2) cubic yards, your business may qualify for an exemption from California's Short-Lived Pollutants Law (SB 1383). If your business generates less than 1/2 cubic yards of organic waste per week and generates less than two (2) cubic yards of total solid waste per week, your business may qualify for an exemption from California's Mandatory Commercial Organics Recycling Law (AB 1826). Multi-family residences do not qualify for organic waste exemptions based upon the high volume of resident food waste. A de minimis volume exemption is good for five (5) years.
3. Physical Space Constraint: If your business or multi-family residence lacks adequate space for organic and/or recycling cans or bins, you may qualify for a physical space constraint exemption. A site visit will be required to verify the lack of space. Photos may also qualify your business if they can show the lack of available space. A physical space constraint exemption is good for five (5) years.

Residential Food Waste Composting

The City of Tulare has provided green organic cans to its residents for many years. For new accounts and for those who are not yet participating, we encourage you to immediately begin placing all food scraps into your green organic waste can along with your yard and landscaping waste. Scraps can be collected in your kitchen in a food scrap pail or placed in an old ice cream bucket and stored in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to take them out to the green can. Food scraps can be placed in the green can in a paper bag but never in a plastic bag. Your food scraps turn into valuable compost for our soils.

Interested in composting in your own backyard? Visit Composting At Home to learn more. 

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