SACRAMENTO – To cut as much climate pollution as taking half-a-million cars off the road, new state support will invest $130 million to grow California industry and jobs and help communities turn food and yard waste into clean energy and compost.
California Climate Investments’ Organics Grant Program awards will accelerate the state’s climate progress by keeping 7.7 million tons of organic waste from emitting methane climate pollution in landfills. Methane is a climate super pollutant with 84 times more heat-trapping power than carbon dioxide.
“California’s latest investments in food and yard waste recycling will cut planet-heating pollution and grow California companies with new green jobs in our communities,” CalRecycle Director Rachel Machi Wagoner said. “Organic waste recycling is part of California’s climate fight as we move toward circular, local systems that continuously recycle what we used to throw away.”
Project Highlights
- $130 million to 23 infrastructure projects in 15 counties
- Over 7.7 tons of food and yard waste kept out of landfills
- Climate pollution cuts = Over 480,000 cars off the road
- 114 new jobs for California’s clean economy
The funded projects will recycle organic material into new products like:
- Compost – a superfood for soil to retain more water, and help plants: get more nutrients, use less pesticides, and pull more planet-heating carbon from the air.
- Biofuel – to fuel local bus or service truck fleets with less carbon pollution, or for clean energy to power buildings.
SB 1383 Climate Progress Update
California’s organics recycling and unsold food recovery law (SB 1383) took effect in 2022 to cut methane emissions from organic waste rotting in landfills.
- 75% of communities now report residential organics collection programs.
- Nearly 100% reported expanding commercial organics collection programs.
- Landfill data shows organics disposal dropped by 2 million tons from 2014 to 2021, even before SB 1383 took effect in 2022.
- CalRecycle’s next study on how much organics went to landfills is planned for 2024 and will be published in 2025.
CalRecycle Organics Grant Awards
| County Recipient | Project Summary | Kept Out of Landfills (10 years) | Award |
| Fresno – California Grinding, Inc. | Build biofuel facility to recycle organic waste, +26 jobs | 390,000 tons | $6,575,956 |
| Fresno – Green Valley Recycling | Install and operate de-packager to recycle more food waste, +15 jobs | 461,137 tons | $3,000,000 |
| Humboldt – Humboldt Waste Management Authority | Convert building to pre-process food and yard waste for recycling, +5 jobs | 237,823 tons | $2,710,081 |
| Kern – Kern County | Build a composting operation at the landfill, +6 jobs | 831,000 tons | $10,000,000 |
| Los Angeles – Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts | Upgrade wastewater treatment plant to recycle more organic waste | 600,000 tons | $10,000,000 |
| Los Angeles – University of Southern California | Install an in-vessel composting system for LA Memorial Coliseum grounds | 530 tons | $116,000 |
| Napa – City of Napa | Build new biofuel facility to recycle more food waste, +5 jobs | 300,000 tons | $10,000,000 |
| Placer – Western Placer Waste Management Authority | Build new composting facility to recycle more organic waste | 1,259,000 tons | $9,960,379 |
| Riverside – City of Riverside | Upgrade wastewater treatment plant to recycle more organic waste | 200,000 tons | $10,000,000 |
| Riverside – Riverside County | Build a new composting facility, +2 jobs | 59,000 tons | $1,288,470 |
| Sacramento – CSU Sacramento | Replace organics compactor with an in-vessel composting system | 958 tons | $179,618 |
| Sacramento – DSM Group, LLC | Purchase an in-vessel composter and equipment | 260 tons | $341,367 |
| Sacramento – Sacramento County | Construct building to pre-process food and yard waste for recycling | 452,760 tons | $3,000,000 |
| San Diego – SANCO Services LP | Expand biofuel and compost operation to recycle more organic waste, +8 jobs | 775,000 tons | $10,000,000 |
| San Joaquin – Forward, Inc. | Expand existing compost facility, + 3 jobs | 467,000 tons | $5,167,510 |
| Santa Barbara – Foodbank of Santa Barbara – Santa Maria | Install an in-vessel composter at warehouse | 321 tons | $500,000 |
| Santa Barbara – Foodbank of Santa Barbara – Goleta | Install an in-vessel composter at warehouse | 301 tons | $500,000 |
| Shasta – Anderson Landfill, Inc. | Build a composting operation at the landfill, +8 jobs | 122,000 tons | $10,000,000 |
| Shasta – City of Redding | Upgrade wastewater treatment plant to recycle food waste, +1 job | 40,000 tons | $10,000,000 |
| Sonoma – Republic Services of Sonoma County, Inc. | Install and operate de-packager to recycle more food waste, +2 jobs | 452,833 tons | $2,461,423 |
| Ventura – Agromin | Expand existing composting facility, +26 jobs | 681,000 tons | $10,000,000 |
| Yolo – Northern Recycling, LLC | Expand composting operations at the landfill, +7 jobs | 330,000 tons | $10,000,000 |
| Yolo – UC Davis | Upgrade biofuel facility to recycle more food waste | 75,000 tons | $4,819,324 |
| 23 Projects | +114 Jobs | 7,735,923 tons kept out of landfills | $130.6 million |