Fremont Municipal Code Art. IX Organics Reduction and Recycling Ordinance

(a) The purpose of this article 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 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 2021-02. In order for the ORRO to apply in the city, the city must adopt an ordinance declaring that it will apply within the city.

(e) The city wishes the ORRO to apply in the city of Fremont effective January 1, 2022.

(f) The ORRO provides jurisdictions with the option to grant enforcement authority over various provisions to public agencies as specified in the ORRO.

(g) The SB 1383 regulations also require cities, counties, and special districts providing solid waste collection services to adopt and enforce an ordinance or other enforceable mechanism concerning the CALGreen building standards, the model water efficient landscape ordinance, and procurement of recovered organic waste products. These requirements will be addressed in a separate city process. (Ord. 11-2021 § 1, 11-16-21.)

The organics reduction and recycling ordinance (ORRO) as adopted by the Alameda County Waste Management Authority on July 28, 2021, and thereafter amended by the Alameda County Waste Management Authority is hereby adopted, as if fully set out in this article. A copy of the ORRO shall be maintained in the office of the city clerk and by viewing at (www.StopWaste.Org/Rules).

The definitions in the ORRO are for the purposes of the ORRO and this article and do not apply to definitions in other sections of this chapter. (Ord. 11-2021 § 1, 11-16-21.)

(a) The WMA is authorized and designated to carry out the enforcement responsibilities specified herein effective January 1, 2022. The city manager is authorized to negotiate and enter into an agreement with the WMA to implement this authorization and designation. City designates the WMA as an enforcement agency for Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 9(a)(2), 9(b), 10, 11, and 12 of the ORRO. The authority provided by this designation includes the authority to request information or conduct inspections to verify compliance with any of the above sections to support WMA’s enforcement activities.

(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 and discretion to implement and enforce the ORRO and any provisions therein.

(c) The city council delegates the authority to the city manager or designee to negotiate and enter into an agreement delegating certain enforcement duties to the Alameda County department of environmental health (ACDEH), to carry out responsibilities under this chapter and no amendment of this chapter shall be required. (Ord. 11-2021 § 1, 11-16-21.)