Sentinel staff report–
Residents in Citrus Heights wondering what counts as “organic waste” under new requirements will find some clarification in the city’s annual waste collection calendar for the month of July.
The 2022 calendar lists waste collection dates and includes an infographic that was also shared on the city’s social media pages on July 1.
Food-soiled paper items like paper plates, napkins, pizza boxes and coffee filters should all go in the green waste cart, along with meat, nut shells, fruits and vegetables, and bones. Residents should also continue placing grass, leaves, branches and untreated wood in the green cart as well.
Items not suited for the green bin include dog and cat poop, treated wood, dirt or sod lawn, rocks and concrete, beverage containers and tree stumps, the calendar says.
Residents will be receiving a kitchen pail sometime this month from Republic Services, the city’s waste collection contractor. Food waste collected in the pail is to be taken to the green waste cart, now called the “green organics cart.”
The new state-mandated organics waste recycling program was initiated with the passage of Senate Bill 1383 by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2016 and aims to curb methane emissions by reducing the amount of organic waste in landfills. The law requires jurisdictions to provide weekly organic waste collection services, or face hefty penalties.
Under the new changes required by the bill, green waste carts will be collected weekly instead of bi-weekly, and residents are required to place food scraps and food-soiled paper in the green bin. Fees are also increasing to cover the extra collection cost.
Read more: Controversial organics waste program to begin July 4 in Citrus Heights
