Chapter 12.35 — ORGANICS REDUCTION AND RECYCLING

The Council of the City of Berkeley finds and declares as follows:

(a). The purpose of this Ordinance is to comply with certain state laws requiring cities, counties, and special districts providing solid waste collection services to adopt ordinances and take other measures to reduce the amount of organic and recyclable materials deposited in landfills from commercial and residential generators, more specifically the Short-Lived Climate Pollutants Organic Waste Reduction regulations adopted pursuant to Senate Bill 1383 (Statutes of 2016) set forth in the California Code of Regulations (the "SB 1383 Regulations").

(b). The City of Berkeley is a member of the Alameda County Waste Management Authority ("WMA"). The WMA is a joint powers agency comprised of all the cities in Alameda County, the County, and two sanitary districts.

(c). The SB 1383 Regulations require cities, counties, and special districts providing solid waste collection services to adopt and enforce an ordinance or other enforceable mechanism applicable to residents and businesses generating or processing solid waste to implement relevant provisions of the SB 1383 Regulations. In response to this mandate, the WMA’s member agencies requested that it adopt an ordinance to establish a uniform and comprehensive countywide system to establish the local regulations required by the SB 1383 Regulations concerning regulation of organic waste collection services, generators of organic waste, waste haulers, and generators and processors of edible food, together with enforcement mechanisms and administrative civil penalties for violations of local regulations.

(d). On July 28, 2021 the WMA adopted the Organics Reduction and Recycling Ordinance ("ORRO"), Ordinance 2021-01. A copy of the Ordinance is attached as Exhibit A and is posted online at www.StopWaste.org/Rules (Direct link: https://www.stopwaste.org/sites/default/files/ORRO_Ordinance2021-02_Adopted.pdf). In order for the ORRO to apply in the City of Berkeley, the City of Berkeley must adopt an ordinance declaring that it will apply within the City of Berkeley.

(e). The City of Berkeley wishes the ORRO to apply in Berkeley.

(f). The ORRO provides jurisdictions with the option to grant enforcement authority over various of its provisions to agencies specified in the ORRO. (Ord. 7790-NS § 1 (part), 2021)

The City of Berkeley hereby declares that the Organics Reduction and Recycling Ordinance 2021-02 as adopted by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors on July 28, 2021, included herein by reference in Exhibit A, and including its successors and any future modifications to the ordinance, to be effective in the City of Berkeley beginning on January 1, 2022. (Ord. 7790-NS § 1 (part), 2021)

Mulch Standards. To be applied to the City of Berkeley’s procurement target established by SB 1383 regulations, any mulch sold or otherwise provided to Berkeley in connection with Berkeley’s compliance with the State of California’s Recovered Organic Waste Product Procurement Target requirements set forth in section 18993.1 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations shall:

(a). Meet or exceed the physical contamination, maximum metal concentration, and pathogen density standards for land application specified in subsections 17852(a)(24.5)(A)1 through 3 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations; and

(b). Be produced at one or more of the following:

(1). A compostable material handling operation or facility as defined in section 17852(a)(12) of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, other than a chipping and grinding operation or facility as defined in Section 17852(a)(10) of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, that is permitted or authorized under this division; or

(2). A transfer/processing facility or transfer/processing operation as defined in Sections 17402(a)(30) and (31) of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, respectively, that is permitted or authorized under this division; or

(3). A solid waste landfill as defined in Public Resources Code Section 40195.1 that is permitted under Division 2 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations. (Ord. 7790-NS § 1 (part), 2021)

(a). The WMA is authorized and designated to carry out the responsibilities specified in Exhibit B to this ordinance effective January 1, 2022 and the City Manager is authorized to enter an agreement with the WMA to implement this authorization and designation.

(b). The authorization and designation above do not limit the City’s authority to independently carry out some or all of the responsibilities designated above. The City retains full authority to implement and enforce the ORRO.

(c). The City Council may, by resolution, modify Exhibit B and may authorize and designate other entities to carry out responsibilities under this ordinance and no amendment of this ordinance shall be required. (Ord. 7790-NS § 1 (part), 2021)

The City Council declares that each section, sub-section, paragraph, sub-paragraph, sentence, clause and phrase of this ordinance is severable and independent of every other section, sub-section, paragraph, sub-paragraph, sentence, clause and phrase of this ordinance. If any section, sub-section, paragraph, sub-paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is held invalid, the City Council declares that it would have adopted the remaining provisions of this ordinance irrespective of the portion held invalid, and further declares its express intent that the remaining portions of this ordinance should remain in effect after the invalid portion has been eliminated. (Ord. 7790-NS § 1 (part), 2021)

This Ordinance is adopted pursuant to CalRecycle’s SB 1383 Regulations. The SB 1383 Regulations were the subject of a program environmental impact report (EIR) prepared by CalRecycle, and except for provisions which maintain the already established requirements of the Waste Management Authority’s Ordinance Requiring Actions to Reduce Landfilling of Recyclable and Organic Solid Wastes from Businesses, Multifamily Residences, and Self- Haulers (Ordinance 2012-01; also known as the Mandatory Recycling Ordinance) which currently apply in Berkeley, the activities to be carried out under this Ordinance are entirely within the scope of the SB 1383 Regulations and that EIR. No mitigation measures identified in the EIR are applicable to Berkeley’s enactment of this Ordinance. Moreover, none of the conditions requiring a subsequent or supplemental EIR, as described in Public Resources Code Section 21166 and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Sections 15162 and 15163, have occurred. The EIR therefore adequately analyzes any potential environmental effects of the Ordinance and no additional environmental review is required. On a separate and independent basis, the Ordinance is exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15308, Class 8 of the CEQA Guidelines of as an action that will not have a significant impact on the environment and as an action taken by a regulatory agency for the protection of the environment, specifically, for the protection of the climate. There are no unusual circumstances that would cause this Ordinance to have a significant effect on the environment. (Ord. 7790-NS § 1 (part), 2021)