What happens if you don’t follow the city of Sacramento’s food waste mandate?

As Sacramento gears up for the next steps in its residential food waste program this summer, residents are wondering what the consequences are for not complying with the statewide mandate.

A reader emailed The Bee’s service journalism team this question: “What consequences are [property managers/landlords] subject to if one of our tenants does not comply with the regulations on putting out their containers?”

The inquiry inspired The Bee to broadly answer how the mandate will be enforced.

Simply: you’re off the hook — for now.

In an email to The Bee, Jesa David, a spokeswoman for Sacramento’s Recycling and Solid Waste Division, said residents won’t see any consequences for not recycling their food waste properly until after the first year of the waste program.

Instead, David said the city will focus on educating its residents about the program. According to CalRecyle, jurisdictions are required to inspect and enforce those generating organic waste for the program.

“If there is a recurring issue of contamination in a property’s solid waste containers, our Code enforcement officers will contact the property owner and/or tenant to educate them on the City code, issue warnings and eventually levy fines if they don’t comply,” David said.

Starting in 2024, fines can be up to $500.

According to the city’s code enforcement page, if a tenant or property owner receives a notice from the city to correct a violation, the person has 30 days to correct it or to appeal the notice.

How do I comply with Sacramento’s food waste program?

Here’s what you need to know to comply with Sacramento’s organic waste mandate:

City residents living in apartment buildings of five units or more should’ve been recycling their organic food waste in property-provided bins since the beginning of the year, according to the city of Sacramento. The start date for residents living in single-family homes and duplexes up to fourplexes is July 1.

The county’s organics program is similar to the city’s, except for a few details.

Starting July 4, residents living in the unincorporated part of Sacramento County who receive curbside green waste service will be required to toss their organic food and green waste material into their green waste cart (soon to be organics cart) for weekly pick up, according to the county’s waste management and recycling page.

WHAT GOES IN MY ORGANICS BIN?

Before tossing any organic food waste material into the bin, remove stickers, twist ties and rubber bands from the produce.

Here’s what should be recycled as organic food and green waste material, according to the county website, switch is the same for the city’s:

• Fruit
• Vegetables
• Bread
• Cereal
• Dairy
• Meat (including bones)
• Shells
• Coffee grounds
• Paper coffee filters
• Tea bags
• Food soiled paper: paper towels and napkins, paper plates, greasy pizza boxes, paper lunch bags
• Food scraps: moldy food, leftovers, rotting food
• Green waste: branches, grass, leaves, tree trimmings, prunings

Here’s what shouldn’t go into the bin, according to the website:

• Plastic bags
• Styrofoam
• Takeout containers
• Utensils
• Glass
• Metal
• Liquids
• Pet waste
• Water hoses

Pet waste shouldn’t be placed in your organics bin. The city strongly suggests people continue to place their pet waste and cat litter in garbage bins.

This story was originally published May 31, 2022 at 5:00 AM.