Long Beach residents are getting new green bins as the city rolls out a new recycling program for food waste. The final phase of the rollout in L.A. County鈥檚 second-largest city is set to wrap up by the end of the year. It comes three years after a state law went into effect that mandates food waste be kept out of landfills.
Officially called SB 1383, the law requires all cities, counties, institutions, residents and businesses to divert food and other organic waste from landfills. Instead, that waste will be composted, donated, or turned into fuel. California is the second state in the U.S. after Vermont to pass such a law.
The city of Long Beach took a different approach to rolling out its program from most major cities 鈥� they started requiring businesses to use the bins first. That program has been in action since 2023. “They are one of the largest food generators and also there are fewer accounts,鈥� said Dalia Gonzalez, with the city鈥檚 public works department, of the reasoning.