Californian Food Waste Composting Regulations

In California, nearly 25% (about ten million tons) of waste is compostable organic food materials. According to the 2008 waste characterisation study, food waste represents 15.5% (6.1 million tons) of the material landfilled in the US state.

The government's Strategic Directive 6.1 calls for a 50% reduction in the amount of organics in the waste stream by 2020. An additional 15 million tons of organic material will need to be recycled each year to achieve this goal, requiring the citing of new, and expansion of existing, organic diversion facilities.

The food waste composting regulations white paper aims to examine the regulatory history of composting in California, food waste composting, compost / mulch infrastructure, compost product safety, and air and water quality impacts of composting.