Top Composting & Food Waste in Redondo Beach, California Ranked

For restaurants and food service businesses in Redondo Beach, managing organic waste is no longer just a best practice-it's a legal requirement. California's SB 1383 mandates that all commercial entities, including every restaurant, subscribe to and properly use organics recycling services. This landmark regulation aims to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from landfills by diverting food scraps, food-soiled paper, and yard trimmings to composting or anaerobic digestion facilities. In Redondo Beach, this program is managed in partnership with the city's exclusive waste hauler, Athens Services, which provides the containers, collection, and processing needed to turn potential waste into valuable resources. Understanding and complying with these organics recycling rules is essential for operating sustainably and avoiding potential penalties.

Navigating this new landscape of food waste diversion can seem complex, but it boils down to a straightforward process: separate, collect, and recycle. By implementing a simple system in your kitchen and dining areas, you can contribute to California's climate goals, potentially manage service costs more effectively, and align your business with the values of an environmentally conscious community. This guide will walk you through the specifics of Redondo Beach's commercial organics program, from eligibility and setup to collection schedules and contamination guidelines.

Griffith Park Composting Facility

5400 Griffith Park Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Griffith Park Composting Facility provides food waste composting services primarily for restaurants in Glendale, CA. The facility specializes in processing organic waste to support sustainable waste management practices in the area.

4.5

38 Reviews

TAWA compost green waste food recycling

4002 Drysdale Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90032

TAWA Compost Green Waste Food Recycling is based in Los Angeles, CA, providing food waste and composting services primarily for restaurants and commercial clients. They offer drop-off options for commercial food waste, green waste, and residential waste, as well as onsite waste management and emergency food waste pickup available 24/7. Founded during the COVID-19 pandemic, TAWA Compost began as a food rescue initiative to address food insecurity and now focuses on turning inedible food into nutrient-rich compost. They also conduct workshops to educate the community on reducing waste and maximizing resources.

5.0

7 Reviews

Royal Pumping and Jetting

los angeles

Royal Pumping and Jetting provides a comprehensive range of pumping and jetting services for restaurants and hospitality businesses in Los Angeles, CA. Their offerings include grease trap and interceptor cleaning, waste kitchen oil removal, hydro jetting, grease trap repair, high-pressure washing, and complete plumbing services. The company has been serving Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Bernardino since 2008, with a team of certified experts skilled in handling various pump and blast operations. They also offer 24/7 availability to meet urgent service needs.

5.0

3 Reviews

CR & R Inc

12739 Lakeland Rd, Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670

CR & R Inc provides food waste and composting services for restaurants in La Mirada, CA. The company focuses on sustainable solid waste and recycling solutions, operating advanced materials processing centers and using alternative fuel vehicles to reduce environmental impact. With over three decades of experience, CR & R Inc has developed a state-of-the-art anaerobic digester to process organic waste and produce renewable natural gas, supporting cleaner air and greener practices in the region.

3.1

14 Reviews

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Understanding SB 1383 and Local Mandates

The driving force behind mandatory commercial composting in Redondo Beach is California Senate Bill 1383. This statewide law, which took full effect on January 1, 2022, sets ambitious targets to reduce the disposal of organic waste in landfills by 75% by 2025 ¹. For businesses, this translates into a non-negotiable requirement to separate organic materials from the regular trash stream. The City of Redondo Beach has enacted a local ordinance to enforce these state regulations, making organics collection service mandatory for all commercial customers, including restaurants of all sizes ^{2 3}.

The law specifically targets "commercial businesses" as defined by the state, which includes any for-profit, non-profit, or public entity that generates waste. For the food service sector, this means every establishment-from a small coffee shop to a large banquet hall-must participate. The definition of "large generator" under the law includes restaurants with 250 or more seats or a facility size of 5,000 square feet or more, but it is critical to note that all restaurants are required to subscribe to service, regardless of size ^{4 5}. The goal is to capture the estimated 30-40% of the waste stream that is compostable, thereby reducing methane emissions from landfills and creating nutrient-rich soil amendments.

What Goes In Your Green Organics Cart?

Proper separation is the cornerstone of a successful food waste recycling program. Contamination-placing the wrong items in the green cart-can ruin an entire load of compostable material, so knowing what is and isn't acceptable is crucial.

Accepted Materials (YES):

• All Food Scraps: This includes fruits, vegetables, meat, bones, seafood, dairy, eggs, bread, pasta, coffee grounds, and tea bags. Essentially, anything that was once food can go in the green cart ^{2 6}.
• Food-Soiled Paper: Paper products that are contaminated with food and are 100% fiber-based, such as used paper napkins, paper towels, paper plates, pizza boxes, coffee filters, and uncoated paper food containers ^{2 4}.
• Yard Waste: Grass clippings, leaves, small branches, and weeds. For restaurants, this may be less common but is still acceptable if you have landscaping.

Prohibited Materials (NO - These Contaminate the Stream):

• Dirt, Sod, Rocks, or Concrete
• Animal Waste or Pet Litter
• Large Lumber, Bamboo, or Palm Fronds (these do not break down in the composting process) ^{2 6}
• Any Plastics, Glass, or Metals, including so-called "compostable" or "biodegradable" plastic bags and utensils. Athens Services specifically requests that organic material be placed loose in the cart or in a paper bag.
• Liquids or Grease
• Non-Food-Soiled Paper or Cardboard (these should go in the blue recycling cart)

Keeping the organics stream clean ensures the material can be successfully processed into high-quality compost, closing the loop from your kitchen to local farms and gardens.

Setting Up Service with Athens Services

As Redondo Beach's designated waste management provider, Athens Services is your single point of contact for setting up commercial organics collection. The process is integrated with your existing trash and recycling services.

Container Options: Athens Services provides standard green carts for organics collection. Commercial customers can typically request different container sizes (e.g., 35-gallon, 65-gallon, or 95-gallon wheeled carts) based on the volume of organic waste your restaurant generates ^{7 8}. You may also need multiple carts or a larger dumpster-style container depending on your needs. Discussing your weekly volume with an Athens representative is the best way to determine the right size and avoid overflow or inefficient service.

Collection Schedule: Athens Services offers commercial collection Monday through Saturday. The specific pickup day and frequency (e.g., once, twice, or more times per week) for your green organics cart will be determined by your service level agreement ^{7 9}. It is important to have your carts at the designated pickup location by 6:00 AM on your service day and to ensure lids are fully closed. Carts with lids open more than three inches may not be serviced ².

Costs and Billing for Organics Recycling

A common question from business owners is about the cost of mandatory organics recycling. In Redondo Beach, the fee for organics collection is not a separate line item but is integrated into your overall commercial waste service agreement with Athens Services ^{7 10}. Your total monthly bill is typically based on a combination of factors:

• The size and number of containers for trash (gray), recycling (blue), and organics (green).
• The frequency of collection for each stream.
• The total volume and weight of material generated.

Because food waste is often dense and heavy, diverting it from the trash (gray) cart to the organics (green) cart can sometimes lead to a more cost-effective waste management plan, as trash disposal is generally the most expensive service. The best way to understand your specific pricing and explore potential cost-saving optimizations is to contact Athens Services directly for a commercial quote and waste assessment ^{11 12}.

Implementing a Successful Program in Your Restaurant

Compliance starts with an effective internal system. Here are key steps to ensure your team successfully diverts food waste:

1. Conduct a Waste Audit: Spend a few days tracking what you throw away. This will help you choose the correct organics cart size and identify opportunities for source reduction.
2. Place Collection Bins Strategically: Position clearly labeled, lined (with paper bags or no bag) small bins in key areas: the prep kitchen, dishwashing station, and potentially wait stations for food-soiled paper. Make it as easy as possible for staff to separate correctly in the moment.
3. Train Your Staff Thoroughly: Hold training sessions to explain why the program is important and how to sort materials correctly. Use simple signage with pictures above collection bins. Make this part of the onboarding process for new hires.
4. Designate a Transfer Point: Establish a central location, like a cart in the back alley, where small bins from inside are emptied into the large green Athens cart. A staff member should be responsible for checking for contamination during this transfer.
5. Monitor and Adjust: Check your green cart regularly for contamination. Provide feedback to your team and retrain as needed. A clean organics stream is a sign of a well-run program.

By taking these steps, your restaurant not only complies with the law but also becomes an active participant in building a more sustainable local economy and environment.

The Environmental Impact of Your Efforts

When your restaurant's food scraps are collected by Athens Services, they are transported to a specialized facility for processing. Through controlled composting or anaerobic digestion, these materials are transformed. Composting creates a rich soil amendment that can be used in agriculture and landscaping, returning nutrients to the earth and reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. Anaerobic digestion captures the methane gas produced during decomposition and converts it into renewable energy, such as electricity or vehicle fuel ^{10 1}.

Every pound of food waste diverted from the landfill avoids the production of potent methane gas, a greenhouse gas over 25 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Your commitment to proper separation directly contributes to cleaner air, healthier soils, and California's broader climate resilience goals. It's a tangible way for your business to demonstrate environmental stewardship to your customers and community.

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