Organics Recycling is Changing in Cypress

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Residents across California are seeing changes to the way organic waste such as food scraps, yard trimmings, and more are disposed of and recycled. SB1383, a statewide effort to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants, will require all Cities in the State, including Cypress, to reduce organic material waste and rescue surplus food sources to feed Californians (instead of letting them go to waste).

This will mean there will be some changes in how we ask our residents to handle their organic waste, and in how our City’s waste hauler, Valley Vista Services, collects and processes organic materials.

From March 7 through April 1, 2022, Valley Vista Services delivered food pails to residents on their regular service days. Food pails include an informational brochure, a starter roll of compostable bags and a QR code to this instructional video. Residential organic recycling collection began Monday April 4, 2022. Click here to learn more about the program.

The goals of SB1383 and the State’s new organics practices are to:

Reduce organic waste disposal 50% by 2020 and 75% by 2025.

Rescue for people to eat at least 20% of currently disposed surplus food by 2025

Help Cypress Be the Change!

When organic compostable materials such as food scraps, yard trimmings, and paper break down in a landfill, they contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Because these materials decompose anaerobically (without oxygen) in a landfill, they produce methane, which is one of the most potent greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and a major contributor to climate change.

Organic waste in landfills emits:

20% of the state’s methane

Other air pollutants such as PM 2.5, which contributes to health conditions such as asthma

In an effort to protect the environment and reduce carbon emissions, the State is asking cities like Cypress to increase the diversion of organic materials away from landfills and toward the production of value-added products such as fertilizers, compost, and biofuels. The simplest way to do this is to separate out organic waste from the rest of our trash, the same way we do with recyclable materials. This allows our waste hauler to repurpose these materials into mulch, compost, healthy soil, and other materials that help, not harm, our environment.

What does this mean for you?

The City of Cypress is partnering with our waste hauler, Valley Vista Services, to provide safe and reliable curbside collection services for residents and businesses, including you!

You can help California meet these goals by setting up a home compost system and recycling at home, by using worms to compost, or by joining your neighbors and co-workers in a community composting project. One of the most powerful things you can do to help California adapt to a changing climate is to use compost and mulch produced in California to sequester carbon in the soil.

Complete Rate Schedule – Effective March 1, 2022
(not including the 1.5% City Fee)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is organic waste?

Where do I buy more compostable bags when we run out?

What items are considered organic waste?

Why are the requirements changing?

A focus on recycling organic materials is central to California’s efforts to combat climate change. California has been experiencing the effects of a climate crisis: hotter summers, extreme temperatures, an increase in fires, extreme droughts, and rising sea levels that erode our coastlines. Research has taught us that greenhouse gasses released by human activities, such as landfilling food and yard waste, cause climate change. To respond to this climate crisis, California is implementing statewide organic waste recycling and surplus food recovery.

Who do these new requirements apply to?

How do I participate?

Residents - What are my responsibilities as a resident?

Beginning March 7 through April 1, single-family home residents will be provided with a 2-gallon food pail for compostable organics that can then be added to the existing green waste cart in a compostable bag. Multi-family housing units that utilize community dumpsters will also begin receiving organics bins that will adapt to your existing service. Collection begins Monday, April 4.

Businesses - What are my responsibilities as a business?

Any business that generates 2-cubic yards per week of trash is required to recycle organics and food waste.
Food service businesses must donate edible food to food recovery organizations with others starting in 2024. This will help feed the almost 1 in 4 Californians without enough to eat.
California has a goal to redirect 20% of edible food currently thrown away to people in need by 2025.

Self-Haulers (contractors, construction workers, landscapers, etc.) - What are my responsibilities as a self-hauler?

Self-haulers will need to obtain a self-haul permit and ensure all organic compostable materials — such as hedge and tree trimmings, cardboards, wood scraps, etc. — are separated from landfill materials and properly disposed of.

Where will organic waste go?

As California collects and recycles organic materials, local governments will be required to use the products made from this recycled organic material, such as renewable energy, compost, and mulch. For example, it will be used to curate healthy soil! Compost is a key to healthy soil, and healthy soil is critical to reducing carbon in the air. Organics are readily recyclable into soil amendments like compost, mulch, and liquid fertilizers, as well as biofuel, a renewable natural gas.

Where will recycled organic materials go?

As California collects and recycles organic materials, local governments will be required to use the products made from this recycled organic material, such as renewable energy, compost, and mulch.

For example, it will be used to curate healthy soil! Compost is a key to healthy soil, and healthy soil is critical to reducing carbon in the air. Organics are readily recyclable into soil amendments like compost, mulch, and liquid fertilizers, as well as biofuel, a renewable natural gas.

Am I required to participate? What if I don’t change anything about how I take out my trash?

Yes! This is a new system similar to how your trash is picked up now. Everyone will need to participate and use the new bins or receptacles provided.

The City and Hauler will work together to monitor non-compliance. Fines for violations will be issued by the City.

Certain commercial businesses may qualify for waivers from the mandatory program requirements. Waivers will require verification of eligibility every 5 years and third-party or internal program waivers require quarterly reporting.

What if I don’t have the right resources?

Are my trash rates going to increase?

What is the “Compliance and Monitoring Fee” on my bill?

A 1.5% fee on residential and commercial waste collection rates. As explained in the November 22, 2021 agenda report linked here “complying with the state’s organic waste recycling regulations imposes significant new administrative obligations on the city, including public education and additional reporting requirements. A 1.5% organics recycling compliance fee on residential and commercial waste collections rates is recommended to fund these costs. The organics recycling compliance fee is projected to generate approximately $100,000 a year and cost a single-family residential customer $0.32 a month. Commercial customers’ fee will range between $1.50 and $3.00 a month.”