A city (or county) is not an accident but the result of coherent visions and aims

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and anaerobic digestion – pursuant to 
SB 1383, the Short Lived Climate Pollutants Act of 2016
, the 
Solid Waste: Diversion 
Act of 2011
, the 
Solid Waste: Organic Waste Act of 2014 (SWOWA)
, the 
AB 32 Scoping Plan
, and 
local requirements
 – can 
produce renewable energy and fuel and reduce GHG emissions. As jurisdictions establish organic material recycling programs, 
the general plan should consider the infrastructure that is needed to support increased diversion of organics from landfills, 
including the location of new facilities, the possibility of upgrading existing facilities to accommodate organic material 
specifically, (i.e., co-locating composting and digestion facilities at existing facilities such as transfer stations, material recovery 
facilities, and landfills), or the creation of new curbside collection requirements for food scraps with yard waste. The land use 
element should also include a transparent and proactive process to involve potentially impacted or disadvantaged communities 
in the early stages of facility planning and permitting processes. These issues may also be addressed in the county climate action 
plan. If relevant, cities and counties should consult with special districts and utilities providers to ensure the proposed land use 
plan is supported by adequate facilities. 
In October of 2015, Governor Brown signed 
AB 876 (McCarty)
 to address longer-term planning for organics infrastructure by 
requiring counties and regional agencies to report the following information to CalRecycle commencing on August 1, 2017:
(1)  An estimate of the amount of organic waste in cubic yards that will be disposed by the county or region over a 15-year period. 
(2)  An estimate of the additional organic waste recycling facility capacity in cubic yards that will be needed to process the 
amount of organic waste identified.
(3)  Areas identified by the county or regional agency as locations for new or expanded organic waste recycling facilities capable 
of safely meeting the additional organic waste recycling facility capacity need identified. 
Addressing the facilities that may need to be expanded or sited to process the organic materials in 15 years will require each 
county or regional agency to assess its unique situation, including existing facilities and their ability to process the material, 
and any new or expanded facilities that can be identified.
In addition, the general plan should consider the potential impacts of solid and liquid waste facilities, waste-to-energy plants, 
and similar facilities on surrounding land uses and access routes as identified in the 
circulation element
. Generally, schools, 
hospitals, residences, and other potentially sensitive buildings should not be located where nearby facilities could have adverse 
health impacts. When designating new areas in the land use plan for waste facilities, the city or county should carefully consider 
whether surrounding areas are already burdened by existing sources of pollutants.
The publication, 
Model Goals, Policies, Zoning, and Development Standards for Composting and Remanufacturing Facilities
, 
is intended to educate and inform local policy-makers and planners about land use planning approaches and zoning tools 
to encourage the economically beneficial use of recyclable materials generated in California. It identifies options and model 
language for general plan goals and policies, as well as zoning ordinance standards related to anaerobic digestion, composting, 
and remanufacturing facilities using recycled materials. These examples provide a starting point that can be modified to fit 
individual city or county circumstances.

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Planning for Organic Waste Diversion
California has an 
ambitious goal
 of 75 percent recycling, composting, or source reduction of solid waste by 2020. Achieving that 
goal will require the recycling, composting, or source reduction of an additional 23.5 million tons of recyclables annually, a 
significant portion of which is organic material. To redirect that much organic material by 2020 will require major efforts on 
many fronts, including the expansion or siting of many facilities to accommodate higher recycling volumes, stronger markets 
for recycled materials, ideally within underserved regions of the state, that are sustainable and responsive to local needs and 
opportunities. 
In September 2016, Governor Brown signed 
SB 1383 (Lara, Chapter 395, Statutes of 2016)
, establishing methane emissions 
reduction targets in a statewide effort to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCP) in various sectors of 
California’s economy. Actions to reduce short-lived climate pollutants are essential to address the many impacts of climate 
change on human health, especially in California’s most at-risk communities, and on the environment. SB 1383 establishes 
targets to achieve a 50 percent reduction in the level of the statewide disposal of organic waste from the 2014 level by 2020 and 
a 75 percent reduction by 2025. The law also establishes an additional target that not less than 20 percent of currently disposed 
edible food is recovered for human consumption by 2025. Additional information on the organic waste recycling requirements 
can be found at CalRecycle’s 
SLCP Webpage
. 
SB 1383 builds upon California’s leading commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution statewide. 
Governor Brown identified reductions of short-lived climate pollutant emissions, including methane emissions, as one of five 
key climate change strategy pillars necessary to meet California’s target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent below 
1990 levels by 2030 as established in SB 32 (
Pavley, Chapter 249, Statutes of 2016
). SB 1383 will further support California’s 
efforts to achieve other policies, such as increased commercial recycling as mandated by the
 Solid Waste: Organic Waste Act of 
2014
, hereafter referred to as SWOWA, and greater recycling by the general public.
To achieve these goals and targets, local agencies are turning to innovative technologies like anaerobic digestion to convert 
waste into energy and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Local anaerobic digestion projects 
provide a number of benefits including landfill disposal cost savings, the ability to meet greenhouse gas reduction and state 
waste diversion goals, and increased community pride and recognition for their role as an environmental leader. Anaerobic 
digestion facilities have the option of producing electricity or natural gas with heat as a co-product. Electricity can be used to 
power the facility itself or can be exported to the electrical grid. Natural gas can be used to fuel natural gas vehicles, including 
solid waste and recycling trucks, delivery trucks, passenger vehicles, and buses. Either energy choice will generate a revenue 
stream which can help offset the costs of the facility.
The Sacramento 
BioDigester
 started in 2012 with the capacity to process 10,000 tons of food waste per year, and its capacity 
expanded to four times that amount in early 2015. The 40,000 ton input capacity includes food waste from area restaurants, 
food processors, hospitals, the international airport, elementary schools, and supermarkets. The 730,000 gallons of biofuel 
produced annually are used at an onsite fueling station to fuel all of the natural gas trucks of the local trash and recycling 
collection fleet (24 of 55 trucks) as well as a portion of the city’s and county’s waste fleets, security cars, California State 

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