Santa Barbara County’s SB 1383 Implementation and Ongoing Requirements

SB 1383 sets methane emissions reduction targets for California in a statewide effort to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants. This is accomplished by reducing organic waste disposal and rescuing edible food. Jurisdictions and facilities statewide have been working to comply with this law since 2022. The County of Santa Barbara is responsible for:

  • Evaluating the County’s readiness and capacity to implement SB 1383, including establishing organics collection and recycling infrastructure, and ensuring adequate edible food recovery capacity;
  • Providing organic waste collection services to all residents and businesses via automatic enrollment;
  • Establishing an edible food recovery program that salvages edible food before it enters the waste stream;
  • Conducting outreach and education to all affected parties, including generators, haulers, facilities, edible food recovery organizations, and city/county departments;
  • Operating community facilities that aid in the diversion of organic waste materials;
  • Evaluating disposal of organics from County facilities;
  • Enforcing compliance with SB 1383, including performing inspections of qualifying entities; and
  • Maintaining accurate and timely records of SB 1383 compliance.

County staff are directly involved with edible food recovery, franchise hauler agreements and organics collection, local waste management processing facilities, organic waste recycling facilities, procurement, periodic capacity planning, quarterly facility sampling, annual education and outreach, maintaining an implementation record, overseeing and utilizing CalRecycle Local Assistance Grant funds, and civil engineering activities that support the processing facilities.

Speakers

Sam Dickinson, Senior Program Specialist, Santa Barbara County, Public Works Department, Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division

Sam is born and raised in Santa Barbara and is grateful to have a career where he can help his community of over 30 years.  Growing up immersed in beautiful outdoor settings, Sam learned to love and appreciate our natural resources and wanted to do work to help protect the environment and change behavior. After majoring in Environmental Studies at UCSB and completing various internships, he landed his first waste industry career jobs with Stopwaste.org and the City of Oakland. After several years, it was time to come home to Santa Barbara. 12 years later, Sam continues his work at the County Department of Public Works, now as a Senior Program Specialist. He initiated his career by specializing in backyard composting, school waste reduction, and various environmental education efforts. He has grown in his career, now overseeing County SB 1383 implementation and public education for the County’s ReSource Center and Tajiguas Landfill.

Developing and Supporting a Thousand Oaks’ Food Recovery Program: Best Practices and Lessons Learned

In light of SB 1383 that requires jurisdictions to develop an edible food recovery program, the City of Thousand Oaks has developed a food recovery program that engages with a local network of community-based, non-profit organizations who operate food recovery and distribution services to those in need (“food recovery organizations”) and with edible food generators (e.g., restaurants). Through partnership with this network, the City of Thousand Oaks has increased food recovery capacity and distribution in the Conejo Valley. Since 2021, the City has developed a deep understanding of the capacity and needs of the City’s food pantries and the needs of those facing food insecurity locally. Our presentation would highlight how jurisdictions can assist and support their local food recovery programs and organizations and present lessons learned from our journey to assist others looking to follow a similar path.

The City’s success in this program stems from its collaborative efforts and material support. In 2023, City staff organized a food recovery networking event where local food recovery organizations met to discuss the needs and challenges in food recovery and strategize a path forward. Based on this event, the City formed a subcommittee group to focus on the specific needs and capacity of food recovery organizations. Since this meeting, the City has continued this work in supporting food recovery organizations through regular strategy meetings that facilitate discussion and innovation.

Speakers

Sarah McGurk, Sustainability Analyst, Public Works Department, Sustainability Division, City of Thousand Oaks

Sarah McGurk has nearly a decade of experience working at local jurisdictions and over 15 years of experience in program and project management in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. She holds a master’s degree in public administration with a focus in Urban Studies and Planning from California State University Northridge and a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University. Sarah serves as a Sustainability Analyst for the City of Thousand Oaks Public Works Department. She manages the solid waste program, including management of waste hauler contracts and compliance with Senate Bill (SB) 1383 and other solid waste legislation. Prior to her position at the City, she worked as a Senior Planner at the County of Ventura, managing complex projects, which included local landfills. She also served as a Project Planner at an environmental consulting firm, preparing environmental documents in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

Philip Hirrel, Assistant Analyst, Public Works Department, Sustainability Division, City of Thousand Oaks

Philip Hirrel was born and raised in Ventura and completed his undergraduate degree in Economics from San Diego State University. In 2021, he completed his master’s degree in Urban Studies and Planning from California State University, Northridge. Prior to joining the City of Thousand Oaks, Philip worked as the General Manager and wine director for Marcello’s Chophouse in Albuquerque and later served as the Fine Wine Brand Manager for Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits of New Mexico. Philip began his public service career as an hourly aide in 2021 and was quickly promoted to his current position. His primary focus with the city is to work with local businesses to promote organics recycling, encourage food donations, and enforce environmental regulations.

SB1383 Organics Procurement Requirement Is 100% on Jan. 1, 2025—Is Your Jurisdiction Ready?

SB 1383 was passed in 2016 to keep organic waste out of landfills. The methane emitted from raw organic waste contributes substantially to overall greenhouse gas emissions. Based on the population size of the jurisdiction, CalRecycle assigned every jurisdiction a tonnage amount of recycled organic waste that they must acquire instead of sending the waste to landfills. As of January 1, 2025, jurisdictions must procure and distribute 100 percent of their recovered waste amount or risk potential fines. To avoid these fines, jurisdictions have come up with innovative compliance solutions. Several years into the procurement process, Bill Camarillo, Agromin CEO, will discuss some of the creative ways jurisdictions are overcoming their product procurement challenges.

Speaker

Bill Camarillo, CEO, Agromin 

Bill Camarillo is CEO of Agromin, the largest organics recycler in California. He remains passionate about organics recycling and regenerative soil science after 25 years in the industry. As the CEO of Agromin, he plays a key role in pioneering sustainability through organics conversion. Bill spent 10 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. While in the Marine Corps, he finished two associate degrees from College of the Desert, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Redlands, and a Master of Science in Business Administration from the University of Redlands.