AB 876 (Organics Management Infrastructure Planning) Calculator

Background

This calculator is provided to assist jurisdictions with compostable organics diversion planning. AB 876 (Chapter 727, Statutes of 2014) requires a county or regional agency to provide an estimate of organics generated and diversion capacity needed over a 15-year period. It is also intended to help in conjunction with meeting the requirements of AB 1826 (Mandatory Commercial Organics Recycling) which requires businesses that generate a specified amount of organic waste per week to arrange for recycling services for that waste, and for jurisdictions to implement a recycling program to divert organic waste from businesses subject to the law. Jurisdictions and counties will report to CalRecycle on their progress in implementing an organic waste recycling program, estimates of organic waste disposed, needed capacity to divert organics and planning to develop this infrastructure through the Electronic Annual Report (EAR) beginning with the 2016 report due in August 2017.

Instructions

Keep an eye out for the annotations ( ) in various places throughout the calculator for definitions, user input instructions, and additional guidance on where predefined data originates from.

The first column on the left side shows default data as noted from the sources used.

The second column on the right side allows users to input their own data based on local knowledge of programs and demographics or to explore hypothetical outcomes based on potential changes in the future.

• Press the 'Use Default' button to carry over the default County data to all the user input fields which can then be edited as needed.
• For the second column on the right, users must input all required empty data fields beginning with Step C.
• Fields in each step that require an entry to calculate data in further steps are noted with a red asterisk (*).

Data Notes

• Saving Input: None of the information in this calculator can be saved. If you'd like a record of your input please use the "Export to Excel" button located at the bottom of the calculator.
• Green Material ADC: Assembly Bill (AB) 1594 (Williams, Chapter 719, Statutes of 2014) mandates that as of January 1, 2020, the use of green material as alternative daily cover (ADC) will no longer constitute diversion through recycling and will instead be considered disposal. Learn more at FAQs About Green Material Used as Alternative Daily Cover (ADC). This material has not been included in waste characterization data and should be taken into account by counties when estimating needed organics diversion capacity. This additional tonnage should be included in Step E 'Additional Organics That May be Disposed in 15 Years (TPY)' More information, including tonnage of green material used as ADC by individual jurisdictions, can be found on CalRecycle's Green Material Used as ADC page.
• County and Jurisdiction Data: Default data in this Calculator encompasses the entire county, including incorporated cities within their boundaries, as AB 876 specifies reporting for entire counties and regional agencies. Individual jurisdictions that would like to calculate their projected future organic waste disposal and capacity shortfalls should pick their County in Step B, then retrieve their own disposal and population data from the sources noted in the annotation boxes in Step C, and input those numbers in the user in User Data column of Step C.
• Food Waste Capacity Planning: Additional calculation steps have been added to highlight food waste disposal and capacity that may be needed. While these calculations standalone within this calculator and will not affect other fields or steps within it, they may be affected by other data input to the calculator.

Related Information

• AB 876 (Organics Management Infrastructure Planning) Guidance
• Organic Materials Management Resources
• State of Disposal and Recycling Report in California, Updated 2019 (CalRecycle publication)
• CalRecycle has completed an initial high-level review of aggregate data submitted in the 2016 EAR and have prepared a draft analysis of the AB 876 data received. The analysis consists of draft findings, recommendations of potential revisions to the EAR, and supporting needs for the capacity planning requirements in 1383: AB 876 Problem Statement and Recommendations
• Data report for Projected Organic Waste Disposed and Capacity Needed as reported in the EAR by counties and regional agencies.