Erin Levine, resource recovery manager at World Centric, a Rohnert Park, Calif.-based manufacturer of 100% compostable tableware and food packaging, joins Mitch Ratcliffe to discuss California’s mandatory composting law, SB 1383. After passage in 2016, the new law, known as the Short-lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy, went into effect on January 1, 2022, after five years of preparation. SB 1383 requires all businesses, apartment, and condo buildings, as well as individual homeowners in California, to compost food waste. The law also aims to reduce by 20% the current surplus of edible foods sent to landfills. It is a game-changing move and raises many questions about the compostability of everyday products purchased in the state.
In this episode, we dig into composting: What can be composted? How can composting collection can be improved? What are the different approaches to home and industrial composting we need to understand in order to send compostables to the right place for processing? We also look into which composting labels to look for, including the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) label.
We’ve had WorldCentric on the show several times because of the company’s socially-driven mission and focus on reducing the use of unrecyclable materials. They contribute a minimum of 25% of their profits to grassroots community organizations and environmental projects each year and pioneered the Certified B Corporation movement in business. You can learn more about World Centric at worldcentric.com.
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