See a new food waste bin at your Sacramento apartment? Here’s what it means

If you’ve noticed a branded “food waste” bin in the round up of your Sacramento apartment building’s trash cans, it’s time to start recycling your organic waste material.

The city of Sacramento has been distributing the food waste bins for months, but it’s taking time to implement the program with property managers across the city, so many tenants are just now starting to see the labeled bins.

Jesa David, a spokeswoman with the Sacramento Recycling and Solid Waste Division, said if you don’t see a bin specific for your food waste yet, contact your building’s property manager. And if you have one, start recycling your food waste material there instead of the regular trash bin.

If you don’t, it’s not time yet.

In Sacramento, the residential food waste program took effect earlier this year, but it won’t be fully implemented until the summer.

Commercial customers, including people living in multifamily apartments of five or more units, are seeing the start of the program.

Erin Treadwell, Sacramento’s integrated waste compliance manager, said some food waste bins were dropped off near the end of last year, around the time the city began outreach and education for the property managers of about 3,000 multifamily properties.

Property managers are supposed to have the bins now, but programs should be in place no later than June, Treadwell said.

Complex property owners or managers must provide waste collection services for tenants and must supply an adequate number of sizes and locations of containers. According to the city, property managers should provide tenants with information on how to recycle organic food waste.

If a bin was dropped off outside your apartment and you’re unsure on how to use it, Treadwell said call your property manager, check the city’s website or take the name of the hauler (Atlas, Republic or Waste Management) written on the food waste bin and visit its website for more specific information on how to separate food waste.

“It’s just a matter of getting everybody to be compliant — making sure everyone is aware, educating and doing a lot of outreach,” David said.

What about single family homes?

Residents living in single-family homes up to fourplexes, condominiums and mobile homes will be required to subscribe to and participate in their jurisdiction’s organic curbside collection service starting July 1.

Starting in the middle of the summer, residents will be prompted to begin mixing their organic food waste material into their yard waste bin. Those who don’t have a yard waste bin will be given an approximately 32 gallon food waste containers at their residence a couple weeks before the program begins, according to the city’s at-home organic waste page.

If you receive trash service from the city, don’t mix in your food waste with your yard waste until notified. When the program starts, the city will collect the waste material and use a more intensive process to break down organic waste into compost.

“We just want to make sure that people don’t start doing that yet if they they’re not an apartment building, haven’t seen that food waste recycling, if they’re one of our single family homes, residential customers,” David said.

What organic waste material is accepted?

Residents will be able to put all food waste and organic waste in their yard waste container, including:

• Eggshells
• Meat shells
• Fruit and vegetable scraps
• Meat
• Dairy
• Bones
• Rotting food
• Yard trimmings
• Green material
• Landscape and pruning waste
• Clean lumber and wood

State law prohibits putting organic waste in the trash or mixed recycling can, according to Cal Recycle.

Here’s what materials the city doesn’t accept:

• Textiles
• Carpet
• manure and pet waste

What about odors and rodents?

To eliminate or decrease pests and odors, residents can use a compostable bag, layer food with food-soiled paper or store food scraps in the freezer or refrigerator and wait to put them in the the correct container until the night before collection.

And when the time comes for people living in single family homes and multifamily complexes to begin recycling food waste, mix the material with yard trimmings within the yard waste bin.

Essentially, it shouldn’t be an issue. David said most of the waste being recycled would have been in a trash bin previously.

Can I still use my garbage disposal?

As the city begins to roll out bins and solidify the details of the food waste program, it’s asking residents to recycle their food waste instead of putting it down the drain.

David said while there is no way to regulate this, the division wants residents to follow the new recycling standards.

“I understand with the garbage disposal that would be going somewhere else. But a lot of the items that we’ll be putting in our food waste recycling are ones that would be going into the garbage anyway,” she said during a February interview with The Bee.

Free materials to get you started

The Solid Waste Division will provide residents living in single family homes and multifamily complexes with free kitchen countertop waste bins, a roll of compost bags and an informational handout on how to successfully compost at home within the next couple of months. Customers will be able to choose from eight local community centers distributing the containers.

And when it’s time to start recycling organic waste material, the use of compostable bag or layering the food waste with yard trimmings or food-soiled paper will reduce or eliminate odor and pests.

You can also store food scraps in the freezer or refrigerator and wait to put them in the yard waste container until the night before collection.

For more resident requirements and collection systems, container colors and labeling, visit the Cal Recycle website.

The city is still developing the program. Additional details will be released before it’s rolled out this summer.

This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 5:00 AM.