What Does SB 1383 Mean for Commercial Building Trash?

What SB 1383 requires of commercial buildings

SB 1383, the Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Act of 2016, set statewide targets for keeping organic waste out of landfills, where it breaks down into methane. Organic waste here means food, yard trimmings and similar materials, and it includes paper, which most local programs send to the recycling container. CalRecycle's regulations in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations place duties on jurisdictions, haulers and generators, with the commercial business rules in section 18984.9. Multifamily properties with five or more units count as commercial businesses, with some differences.

Where the janitorial crew makes or breaks compliance

Sorting happens at the bin, but it survives or dies in the hallway. A crew that empties a carefully sorted recycling bin into the same black bag as the trash undoes the building's effort in seconds, and tenants who see it stop sorting.

Good practice is simple and belongs in the scope. Each stream keeps its own liner and its own trip to the enclosure. Liners match what the hauler accepts, since some programs reject compostable bags and others require them. Cal/OSHA's sanitation order, Title 8 section 3362(d), already requires putrescible waste to be held in receptacles that do not leak and are kept sanitary, which makes regular washing of organics bins a safety task as well as an odor one.

• Separate liners by stream, with clear liners for recycling where the hauler allows, so contamination is visible
• Never combine streams on the cart or at the enclosure
• Empty food-waste bins daily and wash them on a schedule
• Report heavily contaminated bins to the property manager instead of quietly re-sorting or trashing them
• Restock signs and labels when they are torn or missing

How contamination is checked, and what happens when it is found

Jurisdictions and their haulers monitor contamination, typically through route reviews or waste evaluations, and can leave notices on containers holding the wrong materials. Jurisdictions were required to begin enforcing the regulations on January 1, 2024, so repeated contamination can now lead to fees or penalties under the local ordinance.

Inside the building, the business has to check its own containers periodically and tell employees when they are contaminated. The cleaning crew is well placed to supply that information. A short weekly note to the property manager listing which floors or break rooms had the worst contamination gives the manager something specific to raise with tenants.

Setting up containers that people actually use correctly

Container layout drives behavior more than posters do. A lone trash can beside a coffee station will collect grounds, cups and paper together whatever the sign says.

• Pair every trash container with recycling and, wherever food is eaten, with organics
• Use the same color scheme indoors as the hauler uses outside
• Label lids with pictures of the items people actually throw away there
• Consider central stations in place of desk-side trash cans, which tends to cut contamination and liner use
• Ask the hauler whether paper towels from restrooms and break rooms belong in organics
• Put organics bins where people eat, not only in the kitchen

What to put in your cleaning contract

Write the sorting rules into the scope so they survive staff changes on both sides.

• Liner colors and types for each stream, matched to the hauler's rules
• A plain rule that streams are never combined during collection
• Contamination reporting: how often, to whom and in what format
• Washing frequency for organics containers
• Who restocks signs and labels
• The crew's part in the building's annual SB 1383 education

How EBS handles waste streams

EBS crews collect trash, recycling and organics according to each building's sorting rules, which are set at the walkthrough along with liner types and set-out locations. Supervisors check waste stations during routine inspections, and anything that needs attention goes into eHub with the corrective action taken. For buildings working toward wider sustainability goals, green, non-toxic and biodegradable cleaning products are also available on request.