The CalRecycle SB 1383 Organics Regulations require all businesses to follow certain rules regarding waste sorting, collection, and education. These rules also apply to:

• organizations and businesses
• non-profits
• multi-family properties with more than 5 units

All businesses, organizations, non-profits, and multi-family properties must do the following: 

• 

  Subscribe to Recycling and Organics Recycling Collection Service: Businesses must either subscribe to and participate in the City’s recycling and organics curbside collection service OR self-haul recyclables and organic waste to a recycling or certified composting facility.

  Cupertino has an exclusive contract with Recology Cupertino to service your carts and bins.
  
  Depending on the amount of organic waste your business generates, you may need additional organics carts or more frequent service. Businesses that choose to self-haul their recycling and organics will need to meet certain criteria and certify with the City as a self-hauler on a regular basis.

• Provide Adequate Access to Organics Recycling: Businesses must ensure they have adequate access to recycling and organics recycling service for their employees, contractors, customers and tenants, including supplying and allowing access to an adequate number, size and location of containers with either sufficient labeling or the appropriate color (more information on this is provided below).

• Provide Organic and Recycling Bins Next to Each Trash Bin: All businesses, except for multi-family properties, must provide organics and recycling bins next to each trash bin (except restrooms) for customers to use. Businesses may need to purchase additional bins in order to ensure that an organics and recycling bin is placed next to each trash can that customers can access. This applies to every trash can available to customers at a business—indoors and outdoors--unless there are no recyclables or organics generated in that area.

  Remember: paper towels and facial tissue are considered “organic materials,” so businesses must ensure that there are sufficient organics bins to be able to collect all these and all other recyclable and organic wastes from employees, contractors, etc.
  
  Exception: If a business has a trash bin in an area that does not generate any recycling or organic wastes, then it does not have to provide recycling and/or organics containers in that particular area. For example: A trash can in an examination room at a doctor’s office may not need a paper recycling bin if there is no paper waste generated in that room.

• Make Sure Waste Bin Have Labels and Correct Colors: Waste bins provided by a business must conform to certain color or labeling requirements. Trash bins must be grey or black, recycling bins must be blue, and organics bins must be green, (with either the lid or the body of the waste bin being the correct color). Businesses do not need to replace existing containers until they are no longer functional, or until January 1, 2036, whichever comes first.

• Provide Education and Sorting Outreach: Businesses are responsible for educating their employees, contactors, tenants, and customers on properly sorting organic materials into the correct containers. Regular outreach from businesses to employees, contractors, tenants, and customers is required in order to maintain an awareness of proper sorting.  Businesses must prohibit their employees from placing organic waste and recyclables in the wrong bins.

• Monitor for Contamination: Businesses are responsible for making sure that their trash, recycling, and organic waste is sorted properly by performing regular inspection of their trash, recycling, and organic waste bins for contamination, and reminding employees about proper sorting.

• Provide Information to Tenants within Two Weeks: Businesses need to provide new residential and commercial tenants with information on how to properly sort waste within two weeks of them moving in and every year thereafter. Businesses shall annually provide information to tenants about recycling and organic waste diversion requirements and about the proper sorting of organic waste. 

While the SB 1383 regulations do not allow businesses to opt-out of recycling and organics recycling requirements, they do have an exemption clause where businesses that meet the de minimis or physical space criteria can be exempted from some of the SB 1383 requirements.

• De Minimis Waiver

  If your business creates only a small amount of food scraps and other organic material compared to your overall amount of waste service, you might be eligible for a de minimis waiver. Check if you meet the Waiver A or Waiver B criteria described here, and if you do, fill out the form with the link below:

  Waiver A Requirements

  • More than 2 cubic yards of solid waste (recycling/trash/organics): approximately 12 large or 24 regular trash bags
  • Less than 20 gallons of organic waste subject to collection in a blue container (clean paper) or a green container (food scraps and soiled paper) per week: approximately 2 tall kitchen bags
  

  A 6 foot tall man stands next to a 4 cubic yard dumpster that is 4.5 feet deep, 6 feet wide, and 4 feet tall. The dumpster holds approximately 24 tall or 48 regular trash bags. Next to the dumpster is a smaller, 20 gallon organics curbside container that holds approximately 2 tall kitchen bags and is 23.5” deep, 34.5” tall, and 19.75” wide.

  Waiver B Requirements

  • Less than 2 cubic yards of solid waste (recycling/landfill/organics): approximately 12 large or 24 regular trash bags
  • Less than 10 gallons of organic waste subject to collection in a blue container or a green container per week: approximately 1 tall kitchen bag
  

  A 6 foot tall man stands next to a 2 cubic yard dumpster that is 3 feet deep, 6 feet wide, and 3 feet tall. The dumpster holds approximately 12 large trash bags or 24 regular trash bags. Next to the dumpster is smaller, 10 gallon green organics container that is 17 inches tall and 16 inches wide.

  To issue a waiver, the City must verify the business meets the threshold and the City can rescind the waiver if it's finds that the business exceeds the threshold.  

  • What this means for businesses: In order to receive a waiver from paper recycling cart or to self-haul your recyclable paper, a business must generate less than the threshold amount (less than 10 or 20 gallons per week) of paper. In order to receive a waiver to NOT have an organics recycling cart a business must generate less than the threshold amount (less than 10 or 20 gallons per week) of organics waste (yard materials, food scraps, and food-soiled paper). 
    
    

• Physical space waiver

  The City may waive a commercial business’ or property owner’s obligation to comply with some or all of the organic waste collection service requirements if the commercial business or property owner provides documentation, or the City has evidence from its staff, a hauler, licensed architect, or licensed engineer demonstrating that the premises lack adequate space for recycling and/or organic waste containers.

The City is required to re-inspect all businesses that receive a waiver at least every five years to ensure that the business is still meeting the de minimis and physical space waiver requirements.

It’s important to note that the SB 1383 exemption criteria is more strict than the previous organics waivers allowed by the City of Cupertino.

If your business currently has been granted a waiver for recycling and/or organics recycling service by the City in the past, you will need to submit a new exemption waiver request and meet either the de minimis or physical space waiver qualifications. 

If you believe your business should be exempt from having organics or recycling collection, please fill out this form. A City representative will reach out to your shortly. For questions about exemptions, please contact stevenh@cupertino.org. 

Instead of subscribing to Recology Cupertino's recycling and/or organics collection service, the SB 1383 regulations do allow customers to self-haul their recycling and organics waste, if they follow certain rules.

Self-haulers must:

Food Scraps

• Bread, grains and pasta
• Coffee grounds (and filters)
• Dairy
• Eggshells
• Fish and shellfish
• Fruit, including pits
• Meat, including bones
• Poultry
• Vegetables

Yard Trimmings

• Branches and brush
• Flowers and floral trimmings
• Grasses and weeds
• Leaves and tree trimmings

Soiled Paper Products

• Coffee filters
• Milk Cartons
• Paper cups (including disposable paper coffee cups) and plates
• Paper ice cream containers
• Paper bags, napkins and towels
• Paper take-out boxes and containers
• Paper tea bags
• Pizza Boxes
• Waxed cardboard and paper

Help is available 

This may seem like a lot of new regulations, but the City of Cupertino is here to help. 

We are happy to offer a site visit to help determine your compliance and offer assistance such as providing signage, bins, and education. 

If you would like help, please reach out to stevenh@cupertino.org or call (408)777-1403.

Additional Resources

• Search specific items at recyclestuff.us or Recology’s WhatBin Tool.
• Test your sorting knowledge with this short waste sorting quiz. 
• Read the full regulations from CalRecycle. 
• My organization or business has been identified as a Tier 1 or Tier 2 Edible Food Generator. Learn more about edible food recovery requirements.