How to resolve AdBlock issue? LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Starting as soon as next Monday, residents in unincorporated Lake County can choose to place their food scraps in their green waste bin for composting and recycling purposes, as the Board of Supervisors approved amendments to the garbage service contract on Tuesday.
With the service change, the board approved requests from Lake County Waste Solutions and South Lake Refuse & Recycling — the county’s two garbage haulers, which are merging — to add a one-time 4.8% rate adjustment for organic waste processing for residents who choose the service.
While the service will begin immediately, the accompanying fee increase — averaging between $1.20 and $1.50 per month — will not take effect until Jan. 1, 2026.
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier pushed for a delay in a fee change, noting that many residents are already struggling to afford basic necessities like food amid the federal shutdown. With language added to the contract indicating the new timeline, the board voted unanimously in favor of the new service, with Supervisor Jessica Pyska absent.
Public Services Director Lars Ewing said combining food waste with green waste will help reduce the amount of organic material going into the landfill, saving landfill space and cutting emission of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that accelerates global warming and harms human health by contributing to air pollution.
The change, he said, benefits the environment and lowers the county’s costs for methane management.
Historically, the haulers have been providing green waste disposal services at no charge, even with the waste volume expanding over time, Ewing noted. However, with the transition into a mixed organic waste stream containing both yard debris and food waste, the haulers face financial challenges without a pass-through fee to offset the disposal costs.
“The cost of this thing is relatively minimal,” said Ewing of the slight fee increase. “But the benefits are significant in terms of methane reduction and landfill management.”
The process also helps “turn material that would normally go to the landfill into a beneficial use, such as compost,” said Bruce McCracken, vice president of C&S Waste Solutions, which owns both haulers, in a phone call with Lake County News.
“We actually have a landfill in Lake County,” said the company’s Operations Manager Michelle Goodman in the same call. “It definitely has a local impact.”
“Educational information will be mailed out early next week,” McCracken responded in an email to Lake County News. “Beginning next Monday drivers have been instructed to collect food waste in the green cart.”
“I would like everybody to put their turkey carcass from Thanksgiving into the green can this year,” said McCracken at the board meeting.
Voluntary participation toward future compliance
While state law mandates local jurisdictions to recycle organic waste, all of Lake County — including Lakeport and Clearlake — remains exempted from the requirement of a rural entity facing substantial challenges in developing recycling infrastructure.
Participation in organic recycling remains voluntary in the county, even with services now available.
Lake County Waste Solutions, which South Lake Refuse & Recycling is merging into, has voluntarily expanded its services to include organic recycling for unincorporated Lake County. Its affiliate Clearlake Waste Solutions has already been providing similar services for the city of Clearlake, according to McCracken.
Goodman and McCracken said their discussions with the county on the matter began in late 2023. After reviewing data and weighing the benefits, the county’s Solid Waste Task Force also supported the voluntary expansion.
At Tuesday’s board meeting, Ewing noted that although Lakeport does not yet have the service, most surrounding areas do, including much of Mendocino and Napa counties.
The contract amendment for the franchised haulers helps facilitate “standardization for the area,” ensuring contractors manage their waste stream in an environmentally responsible way and in compliance with state regulations, Ewing explained to the supervisors.
“Where does the future lie? It certainly is with reducing the amount of material inbound at the landfill,” Ewing said.
How waste streams are handled
Even with weekly hauler truck visits, some residents remain confused about how the waste streams are managed. From afar, some may think all types of trash are dumped together into the truck.
McCracken told Lake County News that the company has been using “split body trucks” for the job since 2008.
“So on one side [of the truck] you can collect trash, and on one side you can collect recycling, and then our trucks will go back at the end of the day to get their yard waste.” Goodman further explained.
“Instead of making three trips like we used to, we make two now,” McCracken said of the routes after 2008.
“It makes no sense for us to mix everything, because we take the recycling back to our material recovery facility in Ukiah, the green waste gets processed, and the garbage goes to landfill,” he said.
Once residents place food waste in the green bin, it will be collected along with yard debris during the regular truck route. They will remain in the “same cart, same collection time and processed together,” McCracken said in an email.
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