Residential Organics Recycling
(Apartment Complexes/Senior Living Facilities)

The following waste can be placed in organic carts:

• Food (e.g., breads, coffee grounds, dairy, eggs/eggshells, fats, fish, fruits (pits too!), grease, meat (including bones), nuts/nutshells, oils, shellfish/shells, and vegetables)
• Food soiled paper (e.g., paper coffee filters, napkins, plates, tea bags, and towels, as well as pizza boxes (bottoms only; tops should be recycled!) and wooden chopsticks)
• Greenery (e.g., flowers, grass, houseplants, leaves, prunings, weeds, and wood chips)
• Pet food (e.g., birdseed, cat food, and dog food)

Cardboard, glass, metal (aluminum/tin), and plastic should be placed in regular recycling containers. Polystyrene should be placed in trash containers.

If an organic cart is full or unavailable for any reason, waste may be placed in a nearby trash container.

Organic waste may be bagged in compostable or paper bags, or wrapped in newspapers, before being placed in an organic cart. Consider asking for paper bags when shopping for groceries; after groceries are unpacked, those same bags can be used to collect and dispose of organic waste.

Organic waste may also be placed directly in organic carts.

No. Pet waste, litter, and bedding should be placed in trash (landfill) containers. Only pet food (e.g., birdseed, cat food, and dog food) should be placed in organic carts.

In 2016, Governor Brown signed into law Senate Bill 1383, which aims to reduce methane, hydrofluorocarbon gas, and anthropogenic black carbon emissions in a statewide effort to combat climate change and improve public health. Senate Bill 1383 mandates residential organics recycling.

Organic waste in landfills emits 20% of California’s methane, a climate super pollutant 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide, as well as air pollutants like PM_2.5, which contributes to asthma and other health conditions¹. By lessening the amount of new organic waste disposed of in landfills, residential organics recycling will reduce the impacts of harmful emissions.

¹ State of California. California’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy, 23 Nov. 2021, https://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/organics/slcp.

Organic carts are collected on Fridays.

Waste collection does not occur on the holidays listed below. When a holiday falls on a weekday, collections will be delayed by one day for the remainder of the week. If a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, there will be no delay in service and collection days will remain unchanged.

• New Year’s Day
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day

Organic waste collected in Laguna Woods is transported to an anaerobic digestion facility where it is converted to renewable natural gas and/or organic compost.