Top Composting & Food Waste in Davis, California Ranked

For restaurants and food service businesses in Davis, managing organic waste is not just an environmental choice-it's a legal requirement. California's landmark SB 1383 mandates that all businesses, including restaurants, separate food scraps and yard waste from their landfill trash, a law that is actively enforced in Davis through the city's partnership with Recology. This program is designed to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from landfills by turning food waste into valuable compost or renewable energy. Navigating these organics recycling rules is essential for compliance, avoiding contamination fines, and contributing to Davis's sustainability goals. Properly sorting food scraps, soiled paper, and recyclables into the correct colored carts is the cornerstone of the system.

Northern Recycling, LLC

44692 Co Rd 28H, Woodland, CA 95776

Northern Recycling, LLC provides food waste and composting services for restaurants and other organic materials in Davis, CA. Their facility, located at the Yolo County Central Landfill, uses innovative technology to optimize composting, reduce air emissions, and produce high-quality compost products such as organic compost, recycled gypsum, shredded wood chips, and topsoil. The company partners with Yolo County to manage green waste, food waste, and construction and demolition materials, aiming to divert waste from landfills and support local communities through sustainable resource creation.

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Understanding California's SB 1383 Mandate

The foundation of Davis's food waste diversion program is California Senate Bill 1383. This statewide law, which took full effect in 2022, sets ambitious targets to reduce the amount of organic waste sent to landfills by 75% by 2025 ¹. Organic waste in landfills decomposes anaerobically, producing methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The law requires every jurisdiction, including the City of Davis, to provide organics collection services to all residents and businesses. For restaurant owners, this means participation is mandatory, not optional. The city and its contracted hauler, Recology, are responsible for providing the service, while businesses are responsible for proper sorting and ensuring their staff is trained ^{2 3}. Non-compliance can result in warnings and potentially fines, making it crucial to understand and implement the correct procedures.

The Three-Stream Sorting System for Davis Restaurants

Davis utilizes a color-coded, three-cart system to simplify waste separation. Every restaurant must have access to all three streams, and these containers must be placed together in all customer and staff areas (except restrooms) to make proper disposal easy and intuitive ^{1 2}.

• Green Cart (Organics): This is for all food scraps and food-soiled paper. Acceptable materials include fruit and vegetable scraps, meat, bones, seafood, dairy products, eggshells, coffee grounds with filters, tea bags, bread, and pasta. Food-soiled paper like napkins, paper towels, pizza boxes (without plastic liners), and paper take-out containers (with non-plastic coatings) also go in the green cart ^{1 4 5}.
• Blue Cart (Recycling): This stream is for clean, dry recyclables. Items include aluminum cans, glass bottles and jars, plastic bottles and containers (#1 & #2), and clean cardboard and paper. These materials must be free of food residue to be properly processed.
• Gray/Black Cart (Landfill): This is the cart for everything that cannot go into the green or blue carts. This includes plastic bags, Styrofoam, utensils, plastic wrap, and any heavily contaminated material.

Container Sizes and Service Frequency for Food Service

Restaurants, due to their high volume of organic waste, have specific service standards. Typically, a Davis restaurant will start with a 65-gallon green organics cart that is serviced twice per week ⁴. This higher frequency is crucial for managing food odors and pest attraction. The standard blue recycling cart is usually serviced once per week. Your landfill (gray/black) cart size and service frequency are based on your establishment's needs, with the goal of making it the smallest stream through effective sorting.

If your restaurant generates more organic waste than the standard service can handle, you can request additional green carts or more frequent pickups for an extra fee ⁴. It's important to assess your waste output during different seasons or days to ensure your service level is adequate.

Critical Rules: What NOT to Put in the Green Organics Cart

Contamination is the biggest challenge for organics recycling. Placing the wrong item in the green cart can spoil an entire truckload of compostable material. Staff training is explicitly required to prevent this ¹. Here are the key contaminants to keep out:

• Plastic Bags: No plastic bags of any kind, unless they are certified compostable (and even then, check with Recology, as some facilities do not accept them). Do not bag food scraps in plastic bags.
• Non-Compostable Plastics: This includes utensils, straws, clamshell containers, wrappers, and film.
• Glass, Metal, or Foil: These materials belong in the blue recycling cart if clean.
• Liquids, Oils, or Grease: These can disrupt the composting process.
• Pet Waste, Dirt, Rocks, or Textiles: These are not accepted in the city's organics program.

When in doubt, use the landfill cart to avoid contaminating the valuable organics stream. Recology and the City of Davis provide detailed guides and labels to help with these decisions ^{4 5}.

Staff Training and Customer Education

A successful organics diversion program hinges on consistent participation from every employee, from the kitchen to the front of house. Restaurant managers are responsible for training all staff on how to correctly sort waste into the green, blue, and gray carts ¹. This can be incorporated into onboarding and reinforced with clear, graphic signage posted above or on the bins themselves. Furthermore, the law requires that customer-facing bins be available and placed next to trash receptacles ². Providing clear labels for customers helps them participate correctly, reduces contamination from patrons, and showcases your restaurant's commitment to sustainability. It turns a regulatory requirement into a point of community pride and environmental education.

Program Costs and Service Management

For Davis businesses, the base level of service-which includes one green organics cart and one blue recycling cart-is integrated into the overall solid waste service rate ^{4 6}. You are not charged a separate subscription for the mandatory organics collection. Your primary billable service is typically for the size and frequency of your landfill (gray/black) cart collection. Costs increase if you need additional carts of any type or more frequent pickups beyond the standard schedule ^{4 7}. To get a precise quote tailored to your restaurant's square footage, seating capacity, and waste output, you must contact Recology Davis directly. They can conduct a waste assessment to recommend the most efficient and cost-effective service levels.

The Environmental Impact of Your Efforts

When Davis restaurants diligently sort their food scraps, the benefits extend far beyond regulatory compliance. The organic material collected in the green carts is taken to regional facilities where it is processed into compost, a nutrient-rich soil amendment used in local agriculture and landscaping. In some cases, it may be used in anaerobic digesters to create renewable natural gas ¹. This closed-loop system reduces methane emissions from landfills, conserves water by improving soil health, and decreases the need for chemical fertilizers. By participating fully, your restaurant directly contributes to California's climate goals and supports the local circular economy, turning what was once waste into a valuable resource.

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