Frequently Asked Questions

The city’s franchise waste hauler, Republic Services, will primarily be conducting the route reviews. Depending on the circumstance (i.e., meeting specific deadlines, data collection consistency, etc.), City staff may assist Republic Services.

Mandated by Senate Bill 1383 (SB 1383), Section 18984.5, California cities are required to conduct route reviews on an annual basis for all hauler routes in order to monitor and minimize prohibited container contaminants. A random sample of addresses across the city are selected for this and it will likely be different every year.

When debris is disposed of in the black trash cart, it goes to the landfill. 

Debris that is disposed of in the recycle cart and organics cart are taken to Republic Services’ facility to be sorted for continued processing – whether it is turned into bales for sale or turned into compost. 

When items that belong in the landfill end up in Republic Services’ facility, they are typically caught and sorted out. Doing that causes issues due to either the debris contaminating other materials or disrupting the facility’s machines. That is why it is important to dispose of items in the correct cart.

When a resident receives an ‘Oops’ tag, it is to inform them that a contaminate (an item disposed of in the incorrect cart) was found and needs to be removed.

The ‘Oops’ tag will detail what the contaminant is, which stream it was found in, and the day/time it was found by the auditor. The ‘Oops’ tag also includes if contamination was found and the cart was still serviced, or the reason should the cart have not received service (i.e., excessive contamination or if the cart was blocked).

Receiving an ‘Oops’ tag does not mean the residents will also be fined.

The ‘Oops’ tag serves as a warning and educational piece, so residents know what to do the next time they dispose of materials to avoid contamination.

Individuals who have received multiple warnings and are not complying with SB 1383 requirements would be issued a Notice of Violation letter to allow for corrections and compliance. If there are still high contamination observed and/or noncompliance, then a fine may be issued.

The City can receive up to $10,000 fines per day from CalRecycle should residents, businesses, and multi-families not comply with SB 1383.

Please visit the CalRecycle website which is linked below:

CalRecycle Organics Information