Understanding SB 1383
California’s statewide organic waste and food recovery law, explained in plain language. Learn what it is, why it matters, what is required of your business, and how Ecoris keeps you compliant.
What is SB 1383?
SB 1383 is California’s landmark organic waste reduction and edible food recovery law. It requires all businesses and multifamily properties to sort organics correctly, provide proper bins, educate people on site, and keep records for inspections.
Why was it created?
Organic waste in landfills creates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. SB 1383 aims to cut landfill disposal, reduce climate pollution, and redirect surplus edible food to Californians in need.
What do you need to do?
Businesses must sort waste correctly, train staff, label bins, monitor contamination, maintain donation records when required, and be able to show documentation when a jurisdiction audits the site.
What is SB 1383?
SB 1383 is a statewide California law focused on reducing organic waste and recovering edible food. It applies to nearly every business, school, and multifamily property that generates organic material such as food scraps, yard waste, and soiled paper.
Under SB 1383, all California businesses must:
- Provide organics, recycling, and landfill bins with correct colors and labels
- Ensure staff, tenants, and janitorial vendors know how to sort correctly
- Keep organics separate from landfill trash to reduce contamination
- Maintain documentation that proves ongoing participation and education
In addition, certain higher volume generators have edible food recovery requirements that go beyond basic recycling.
Why SB 1383 was implemented
Organic waste that ends up in landfills breaks down without oxygen and produces methane, a greenhouse gas significantly more potent than carbon dioxide over a short time frame. California created SB 1383 to address this climate and food waste problem at scale.
Reduce landfill waste
Cut statewide organic waste disposal to help meet climate goals and extend landfill life.
Lower methane emissions
Keep food scraps and other organics out of landfills where they generate methane.
Recover edible food
Redirect still edible surplus food from Tier 1 and Tier 2 generators to food recovery organizations.
Standardize sorting
Align bins, labels, and behavior statewide so staff and tenants follow the same rules everywhere.
What your business is required to do
Jurisdictions and inspectors look for a clear set of practices and records when they review SB 1383 compliance. Ecoris builds your program around these key expectations.
For all businesses and multifamily
- Annual staff and janitorial training with logs
- Properly labeled organics, recycling, and landfill bins with photo proof
- Quarterly contamination checks with documented corrections
- Proof of organics and recycling collection services
- Clear sorting signage at shared bins and key collection points
- Annual compliance summary or report stored for inspections
- A simple written internal compliance plan that explains how sorting, training, and monitoring work on site
For Tier 1 and Tier 2 edible food generators
- Verified agreement with a food recovery partner or network
- Donation logs that show regular edible food recovery activity
Recommended to prevent violations
- Internal contamination correction log to show issues are noticed and fixed
- A simple waste area map for inspectors and new staff
How Ecoris makes SB 1383 compliance simple
SB 1383 is complex, yet the core challenge is straightforward. You need a program that is set up correctly once, maintained throughout the year, and documented in a way that makes audits painless. Ecoris is built to be that program.
1. On site audit and setup
We review your current bins, signage, workflows, and service subscriptions, then map out what is needed to align with SB 1383. You receive a clear plan that removes guesswork.
2. Training, labeling, and monitoring
Ecoris provides annual training, updated signage, and contamination checks. We handle the ongoing education and documentation that jurisdictions expect to see.
3. Ecoris compliance software
All of your training logs, photos, donation records, reports, and compliance plans live in one secure portal. When a jurisdiction audits your site, everything you need is already organized in one place.
Stay compliant the easy way.
Schedule a site audit or request pricing for your facility. Ecoris designs, documents, and maintains your SB 1383 program so you can focus on running your operation.
Schedule a compliance conversation
