REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Authorize the City Manager to Sign the Memorandum of Understanding Between the Santa Clara County Recycling and Waste Reduction Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Member Jurisdictions Establishing Ongoing Management and Operation of the Edible Food Recovery Program to Comply with the Requirements of Senate Bill 1383 (California's Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy)
Report
BACKGROUND
In 2016, California Senate Bill 1383 (SB 1383) was chaptered, setting goals to reduce disposal of organic waste in landfills in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address food insecurity. California sends 11.2 billion pounds of food to landfills annually, some of which is still fresh enough to have been recovered to feed people in need, while 9.2 million Californians experienced food insecurity in 2020. To avoid disposal of edible food, in November 2020 the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) developed regulations requiring jurisdictions to establish edible food recovery programs to recover (from certain large generators) the maximum amount of edible food that would otherwise be sent to landfills to feed people in need. The state goal is to reduce edible food going to landfill by 20%.
As of January 1, 2022, Tier 1 commercial edible food generators (listed below, as defined by CalRecycle) were required to arrange food recovery through a contract or written agreement with food recovery organizations or services that will collect or accept self-hauled edible food for food recovery:
* wholesale food vendors
* food service providers and distributors
* grocery stores over 10,000 square feet
* supermarkets
As of January 1, 2024, Tier 2 generators (listed below, as defined by CalRecycle) were required to donate their edible food:
* restaurants over 5,000 square feet
* hotels with 200 or more rooms and on-site food facilities
* local education agencies with on-site food facilities
* large venues/events
* he...
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