Integrated waste management plans: source reduction and recycling element: review schedule.

The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, which is administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, requires each city, county, and regional agency, if any, to develop a source reduction and recycling element of an integrated waste management plan containing specified components. Those entities are required to divert 50% of all solid waste subject to the element through source reduction, recycling, and composting, except as specified. A city, county, or regional agency is required to submit an annual report to the department summarizing its progress in reducing solid waste. Existing law requires the department, until January 1, 2018, to review a jurisdiction's compliance with those diversion requirements every 2 or 4 years, with the frequency conditioned upon the department finding in the prior review that the jurisdiction was or was not in compliance with those diversion requirements, as specified. Existing law repeals this conditional review schedule on January 1, 2018, and, as of that date, requires the department to review each jurisdiction's source reduction and recycling element and household hazardous waste element for compliance with those diversion requirements at least once every 2 years. This bill would postpone the repeal of that conditional review schedule, and postpone the corresponding operation of the department's 2-year review schedule, to January 1, 2022. Existing law requires the department to adopt regulations to achieve landfill disposal reductions of organic waste from 2014 levels of 50% by 2020 and 75% by 2025, This bill would authorize the department, in consultation with stakeholders, to make recommendations to the Legislature, by January 1, 2022, on necessary revisions to the review process described above to ensure consistency with the regulations adopted to achieve those organic waste disposal reduction goals.