New Law Requires Businesses, Apartments to Recycle

On Sunday, about 470,000 California businesses and multifamily residential dwellings that dumped their waste in landfills entered a new era: Starting July 1, they are required to arrange for recycling services to manage their waste.

The new regulation applies to businesses that generate more than four cubic yards of commercial solid waste per week as well as all residential apartments  that have five units or more, regardless of the amount of commercial solid waste the dwellings generate.

The affected businesses represent approximately 20 percent of California’s 1.3 million businesses and are responsible for about 75 percent of the commercial waste in California, according to the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery.

The regulation stems from AB 341, a bill introduced in the California Assembly in February 2011 and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in October 2011. Part of California's new Mandatory Commercial Recycling regulation, the law sets a statewide goal for 75 percent disposal reduction by 2020. It also requires local governments to inform businesses about Mandatory Commercial Recycling.

According to the state's Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle), the implementation of AB 341 will result in an estimated statewide average annual cost savings of $40 million to $60 million until 2020.

Check back for more news about how local businesses are adapting to the new law.