Businesses that divert recyclable materials from rubbish containers can potentially reduce trash collection costs. If your company or multi-tenant property is serviced on multiple waste collection days or has more than one trash dumpster, you may be able to save money by recycling. Retail businesses, office buildings, restaurants, convenience stores, industrial centers, apartments and condominiums can all set up our simple and convenient recycling program.

EDCO offers recycling programs that allow your employees and/or tenants to collect a variety of recyclable materials. To ensure program success, your Service Representative can provide bilingual educational materials to support your program.

Here’s What You Can Recycle

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Please DO NOT recycle:
Paper Plates Paper Cups Paper Towels Plastic Bags Ceramics Drinking Glasses Mirrors	Tissue Carbon Paper Plastic Bags (NO plastic grocery sacks or newspaper delivery bags) Disposable Cups/Plates PVC Pipe Vinyl Siding Styrofoam Packing Peanuts

How much paper and cardboard is your business tossing into its trash container?

An average office worker can dispose of 1/2 pound of waste paper each day. Use the following equation to see how much paper you could be recycling:

___ number of employees x 0.5 lbs. of paper per day x 240 working days ÷ 2000

= ___ tons of paper your company discards annually

 

AB 827 – California’s Commercial Recycling and Organics (Green Waste) Container Mandate

Effective July 1, 2020, MCR and MORe covered businesses must provide organics and recycling containers for customers to collect waste generated from products purchased and consumed on the premises (AB 827, McCarty). These containers must be placed adjacent to trash and be visible, easily accessible, and clearly marked.

AB 827 requirements were added to existing AB 341 and AB 1826 requirements. The new law, passed in 2019, builds off existing requirements under these two laws.

• This law targets businesses that sell products meant for immediate consumption.
• Full-service restaurants do not have to provide properly labeled containers for patrons, but must provide properly labeled containers next to trash containers for employees to separate recyclables and organics for customers.

AB 1826 – California’s Commercial and Multi-Family Recycling Mandate

In October of 2014 California adopted Assembly Bill 1826, requiring all businesses to recycle their organic waste beginning April 1, 2016. The phase-in of this mandate helps California to achieve its overall waste diversion (75% by 2020) and greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.

Requirements for Businesses: Businesses, including public entities, that generate organic waste (food or green waste) are required to arrange for organic waste recycling services. See Implementation Dates below.

Business Organic Waste Includes:

• Food, including but not limited to: fruit, vegetables, cheese, meat, bones, poultry, seafood, bread, rice, and pasta; coffee filters, tea bags, cut flowers and herbs.
• Green Waste, including but not limited to: grass clippings, brush, weeds, hedge trimmings, leaves, palm fronds, ice plant, ivy and nonhazardous wood, like branches, untreated wood and clean wood waste.
• Compostable Paper, including but not limited to: uncoated paper that is soiled with liquid or solid food waste, like napkins, paper towels and tissues, paper plates, and paper cups.

Requirements for Multi-family Properties: Multi-family properties of 5 units or more are required to arrange for organic waste recycling services.

Multi-family Organic Waste Includes:

• Green Waste, including but not limited to: grass clippings, brush, weeds, hedge trimmings, leaves, palm fronds, ice plant, ivy and nonhazardous wood, like branches, untreated wood and clean wood waste.

Implementation Dates:

April 1, 2016, Businesses generating 8 cubic yards per week of organics and multi-family properties of 5 units or more shall arrange for organics recycling service.

January 1, 2017, Businesses generating 4 cubic yards per week of organics shall arrange for organics recycling service.

January 1, 2019, Businesses generating 4 cubic yards of commercial solid waste shall arrange for organics recycling service.

Assembly Bill (AB) 1826 requires all businesses, public entities, and multifamily dwellings with five (5) units or more, that generate four (4) cubic yards of commercial solid waste per week, to arrange for organics recycling service. The definition of commercial solid waste was further clarified through AB 1398 and includes the total amount of trash, recycling, and organics generated on a weekly basis.

Commercial and multi-family complexes serviced by EDCO are already in compliance. The waste collected from your business or multi-family complex is taken to a mixed-waste processing facility where it is sorted through, and recyclable materials are recovered for recycling. You should still consider the option of starting a separate green waste recycling collection program as it may offer an opportunity to reduce rates.

EDCO can conduct free on-site visits to help businesses and multifamily properties comply with the state’s new mandatory recycling requirements. Contact our Customer Service office by phone or submit a fast and easy online request to arrange for organic waste recycling services.

Food Waste Prevention

Click here for information on a local Food Rescue Program and Food Bank.

In the United States alone, a shockingly 40% of food is uneaten, wasted and thrown out. This results in an unfortunate misuse of resources needed to grow, process and transport food while wasting money and accelerating climate changes. We as consumers are the largest producers of food waste, believe it or not, exceeding the grocery stores and restaurants combined! So, the smallest changes we make add up and make a huge difference. Preventing food waste in the first place typically offers the most significant financial and environmental benefits. Below are some food waste prevention tips from Save The Food:

• Shop wisely: Plan your meals for the week in advance. Shop with a list. Stick to the list and avoid impulse buys.
• Proper portions: Don’t buy or serve more than you need.
• Love your leftovers: While you’re planning your meals, prepare for nights when you’re likely to go out to eat and when you might have leftovers from earlier meals. Get creative to give leftovers another life. They are the start of a casserole or soup the day after.
• Freeze it: Frozen food will keep longer. Almost anything can be frozen! But portion out, label and date your food so that it’s easy to serve later.
• Shop your kitchen before the store: Check the fridge, freezer, and pantry for items that need to get used up before you splurge on new things.
• Don’t fall for date labels: Food doesn’t immediately spoil as soon as the date on the package has passed. Sell-by, use-by, and best-by dates are generally manufacturers’ suggestions for when an item is likely to be at its peak quality.
• Spread the word: Engage friends, family, community, and businesses in food-saving practices. Share your favorite tips with your friends and family. Encourage your local restaurants and grocery stores to avoid excessive portions and package sizes, and tell them it is ok if they run out of an item at the end of the day (so that they can avoid over-purchasing). Teach kids to value food and not to waste it.

AB 341 – California’s Commercial and Multi-Family Recycling Mandate

What Does It Mean for You?

AB 341 requires that all commercial businesses generating four-cubic yards or more of solid waste per week or multifamily residential dwellings of five units or more must provide recycling services at their establishments.

In 1989 the State of California adopted AB 939, which required that municipalities divert at least 50% of their waste from being landfilled. After exceeding this goal and diverting 64% in 2011, the State of California adopted AB 341 and has increased the diversion goal to 75% by 2020. The initial requirement in the process is the implementation of a mandatory commercial and multi-family recycling program that became effective July 1, 2012.

Commercial and multi-family complexes serviced by EDCO are already in compliance. The waste collected from your business or multi-family complex is taken to a mixed waste processing facility where it is sorted through, and recyclable materials are recovered for recycling.

Whether you are a retail business, restaurant, apartment complex, convenience store or industrial center, you should still consider the option of starting a separate recycling collection program as it may offer an opportunity to reduce rates. Contact EDCO and we will perform a personal site visit and set up our simple and convenient recycling program:

• EDCO will evaluate the benefits and costs of a recycling program for your business with a FREE Waste Assessment.
• EDCO will develop a recycling collection program tailored to your specific need.
• EDCO will offer on-site recycling presentations for users supported by bilingual education materials.

Contact EDCO today to ensure you are in compliance with AB 341 and “We’ll Take Care of It!”

Global Recycling Crisis Puts Greater Focus on Recycling Contamination

Over the past year, there have been global concerns over recyclable material quality and these expectations are not going away.

In January 2018, China will no longer accept 26 types of recyclable materials into their country. Nearly 60% of recyclable materials generated in California are currently exported to China and other Asian markets. As a result, processing mills throughout the country and the world are demanding recycling facilities ship only recyclables with less than one percent contamination which is a significant change in material requirement standards. A minimal amount of contamination such as garbage, green waste or other debris can ruin a complete load of recyclable material. Quality of recyclable material can impact your costs should contamination require recycling being dumped as trash.

Please help us prevent and reduce contamination of recyclable material by reviewing the guidelines below and seeing what materials are accepted in our residential recycling program.