Smart Business Recycling E-Newsletter
News
2017 County of Los Angeles Green Leadership Awards Program
On April 22, 2008, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors established an annual Green Leadership Awards Program. Throughout Los Angeles County, residents, businesses, nonprofit organizations, community groups and cities develop and employ innovative strategies and initiatives to enhance our environmental sustainability. The Green Leadership Awards Program is designed to recognize such efforts and to create opportunities to engage and inspire the community about the strategies that make every day “Earth Day.” To learn more about the 2017 County of Los Angeles Green Leadership Award Program click here.
Two Companies Using Technology to Reduce Food Waste
In 2013, the United States Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency joined together to launch the U.S. Food Waste Challenge to provide a platform to assess and disseminate information about the best practices to reduce, recover and recycle food. A pair of U.S. Companies have taken this challenge one step further by creating unique approaches to food waste recovery through their use of real-time, mobile technologies. To read the full article click here.
Aramark Sustainability Seafood Sourcing Policy and Food Donation Connection
Aramark is a global leader in food, facilities management and uniforms has announced a refreshed and enhanced Green Thread environmental sustainability platform. As part of Green Thread, the company is also introducing a new Sustainable Seafood Sourcing Policy and a partnership with Lean Path to support food waste tracking and measurement across the company. While reducing food waste at its source is Aramark's primary focus, occasional overproduction due to unique situations, such as unexpected weather events sometimes happen. In these cases, Aramark's Food Donation Program, in partnership with Food Donation Connection, provides a solution to safely donate surplus food to local hunger relief agencies helping families in need. To learn more about Aramark Sustainable Seafood Sourcing Policy and Food Donation Program click here.
The Difference Between “Zero Waste to Landfill” and “Zero Waste”
The pioneers of the zero waste movement were very clear in the mid – 90’s that “zero waste to landfill” was not the same thing as “zero waste”. There are many communities and business making great strides toward zero waste, like General Motors with their 97 percent landfill diversion rate. But there are others that are pursuing “zero waste to landfill”, which is a great goal, but then they incinerate large amounts of waste to avoid the landfill. In the opinion of zero waste International Alliance (ZWIA), that constitutes greenwashing and a misuse of the term “zero waste”. Click here to read complete article.
Los Angeles City Council Unanimously Approves Waste Franchise Contracts
The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to approve 10 year commercial waste franchise contracts with seven Waste Collection Companies (Athens Services, Republic Services, Waste Management, Universal Waste Systems, NASA Services, CalMet Services and Ware Disposal) to service 11 commercial waste collection zones. This franchise system is seen as a key part of the city achieving a 95% diversion rate by 2025. The seven companies have agreed to invest a collective $200 million in collection and processing infrastructure. Clean fuel requirements will also be mandated for the more than 380 collection vehicles that LASAN expects will be needed to service roughly 65,000 accounts. The contract requirements on food recovery, education, diversion rates and other areas are some of the most stringent of their kind with potential financial penalties. The lack of opportunities for women and minority-owned businesses were cited as sticking point during negotiations. Councilmember Nury Martinez, chair of the energy and environment committee, was credited with helping resolve these issues. Some remaining details will be worked out in the coming weeks. The Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation (LASAN) plans to begin transitioning customers into the franchise system starting in July 2017 with the plan of full implementation by January 2018. To learn more about the details of this plan click here.
The Claremont City Council Unanimously Agrees to Organic Recycling Program
The Claremont City Council unanimously agreed to create an organic food waste recycling program, which would allow businesses to enter into a program to recycle and compost their organic and food waste that they had previously discarded. The program is in direct response to AB 1826, which was passed in 2014 and requires mandatory commercial organic recycling throughout California. To learn more about the details of this plan click here.
Laws/Ordinances
AB 1826 Dates and Thresholds
The law phases in the requirements for businesses, including multifamily residential dwellings that consist of five or more units,* over time based on the amount and type of waste the business produces on a weekly basis, with full implementation realized in 2019. Additionally, the law contains a 2020 trigger that will increase the scope of affected businesses if waste reduction targets are not met. The implementation schedule is as follows:
-
April 1, 2016: Businesses that generate 8 cubic yards of organic waste per week shall arrange for organic waste recycling services.
-
January 1, 2017: Businesses that generate 4 cubic yards of organic waste per week shall arrange for organic waste recycling services.
-
January 1, 2019: Businesses that generate 4 cubic yards or more of commercial solid waste per week shall arrange for organic waste recycling services.
-
Summer/Fall 2021: If CalRecycle determines that the statewide disposal of organic waste in 2020 has not been reduced by 50 percent of the level of disposal during 2014, the organic recycling requirements on businesses will expand to cover businesses that generate 2 cubic yards or more of commercial solid waste per week. Additionally, certain exemptions may no longer be available if this arget is not met. To learn more about AB1826 click here.
*Note: Multifamily dwellings are not required to have a food waste diversion program