California’s new food waste recycling program is the latest effort to keep landfills clear of food waste that damages the atmosphere as it decays.
California is now the second state in the country, after Vermont, to convert food scraps like banana peels and leftover vegetables into energy or compost.
In this week’s “In Focus SoCal,” host Tanya McRae sits down with CalRecycle director Rachel Wagoner to learn the ins and outs of the new law which is now in effect.
Residents will have a few years to adjust to the new law, with fines going into effect in 2024. Most people will be required to toss excess food into green waste bins rather than the trash.
“We’ve been really impressed with how many local governments have really met the moment as the governor likes to say, and really jumped in and adjusted to make sure that they are able to meet this important mandate,” said Wagoner.
McRae also visits the Puente Hills Material Recovery Facility to see how food waste can be turned into biogas. The facility is where much of the discarded or spoiled food from restaurants, businesses and grocery stores in the region ends up. Some 4,000 tons of food waste arrive there every day to be turned into slurry before it’s brought to another facility to be pumped into anaerobic digesters that are then turned into biogas.
Biogas can produce energy, electricity, heat, steam, vehicle fuel and natural gas.
Supervisor Carmen Ramirez, chair of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, joins the conversation and talks about implementing the new program to help the environment.
“It’s a great program. It’s kind of complicated, so we all have to stay tuned,” said Ramirez.
Spectrum News 1’s Kristopher Gee takes us inside the Spring Street Community Garden in downtown Los Angeles, where people have been self-hauling their organic waste for years to turn into compost.
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