AB 643: Climate change: short-lived climate pollutants: organic waste reduction.

Existing law establishes methane emissions reduction goals that include a target to reduce landfill disposal of organics by 75% of the 2014 level of the statewide disposal of organic waste by 2025. Existing law requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, in consultation with the State Air Resources Board, to adopt regulations to achieve the organic waste reduction goals. Existing law authorizes a local jurisdiction to count compost produced and procured from specified compost operations towards its recovered organic waste procurement target.

This bill would authorize a local jurisdiction to include organic material used as a beneficial agricultural amendment towards its recovered organic waste procurement target if the material is processed at a facility authorized by the department using specified approved technologies, and if the material is licensed for end use as an agricultural fertilizer by the Department of Food and Agriculture. Agriculture, as provided, and the material is not derived from, or processed using, specified activities relating to the final deposition or management of solid waste, as provided. The bill would require the amount of the procured materials to be calculated using the dry weight of the materials.