In the City of National City, residential and commercial solid waste collection and recycling services are performed under contract to residents and businesses by EDCO Disposal.  For detailed information on solid waste collection services and the types of recyclable materials collected, please visit EDCO's National City website at www.edcodisposal.com/national-city. 

Rates for all services are negotiated by the City Council.  For Rate Information see: National City Rate Schedule.

EVENTS AND NEWS

Notice of Public Hearing to Consider Proposed Rate Increase for Refuse Services to be held on Tuesday, June 6, 2023 at 6:00 p.m in Council Chamber located inside City Hall at 1243 National City Blvd., National City. 

Notice of Public Hearing (PDF) - English 

 Notice of Public Hearing (PDF) - Spanish 

Notice of Public Hearing (PDF) - Tagalog

 Edco Senior Discount Information  (PDF)

FOOD WASTE REDUCTION NEWSLETER

 Please see attached newsletter for useful information on how to reduce food waste. 

RESIDENTIAL BULKY ITEM PICKUP 

For Residential Bulky Item Pickup contact EDCO to schedule pickup of large items generated from within your home (such as mattresses, couches, refrigerators, etc.). 

MANDATORY COMMERCIAL RECYCLING LAW - AB 341

A business (includes public entities) that generates four cubic yards or more of commercial solid waste per week or is a multifamily residential dwelling of five units or more shall arrange for recycling services as set forth by the statewide mandatory commercial recycling program. 

Commercial recycling programs available through EDCO waste include:  Mixed Paper, Beverage Containers, Metals, Old Corrugated Cardboard and Green Waste.  For more information on Business Commercial Recycling Requirements, please contact EDCO for services or visit the CalRecycle  for more information on AB341 legislation.

MANDATORY COMMERCIAL AND MULTI-FAMILY ORGANICS RECYCLING LAW (GREEN WASTE)  - AB 1826

In October of 2014 California adopted Assembly Bill 1826, requiring all businesses to recycle their organic waste beginning April 1, 2016. The phase-in of this mandate helps California to achieve its overall waste diversion (75% by 2020) and greenhouse gas emission reduction goals.

Organic Waste = food waste, green waste, landscape and pruning waste, non-hazardous wood waste.

For more information on AB1826 legislation and requirements, including implementation dates and thresholds, visit CalRecycle or contact EDCO for collection services.

SAN DIEGO REGIONS & ORGANICS

Coming in 2021, EDCO’s New Organics Recycling Program will Collect Food Scraps and Yard Waste Mixed Together in Your Green Cart. Residential collection is scheduled to start on April 1st and will align with the billing cycles.  Customers will receive a bill with the associated service fee increase for organics previously approved by council.  This rate is 2.48 per mos. starting April 1, 2021.

Commercial Organics will start sometime mid-year and Edco will continue to perform personalized site visits to educate customers on state mandates and migrate service towards recycling of Organics and reduction in trash service levels.  We are targeting early 21 to bring the SB 1383 ordinance to council as required by CalRecycle. For more info. click here 

1.  Prevention of Food Waste

• First and foremost this helps our customers improve their bottom line

2.  Donation of Edible Food

• Nearly one in seven San Diego residents (approximately 500,000 people annually) do not know where their next meal is coming from.  Regionally, almost 500,000 tons of food waste is sent to the landfill - EDCO wants to support our customers in setting up systems to donate food to help end hunger throughout San Diego County.

3.  Collection of non-edible food

• After all possible means of food waste prevention and donation of edible food have been pursued, remaining food waste materials will be collected for recycling.

Helpful resources for taking responsible steps in reducing food waste include:

EPA's Sustainable Food Management

EPA's San Diego Area Food Recovery Links and Resources 2017

More information on AB 1826 can be found by visiting CalRecycle.    

Organic Waste Reduction SB-1383

 California State Senate Bill 1383 (SB 1383), requires the reduction of organic waste disposed of in landfills. Organic waste is comprised of food scraps and food-soiled paper from kitchens and food operations and yard waste such as garden and landscape waste, organic textiles and carpets and wood waste.

 SB 1383 requires that each resident and business, must subscribe to an organic waste collection service that either “source-separates” the waste (e.g. separate bins), or transports all unsegregated waste to a facility that recovers 75 percent of the organic content collected from the system. 

 Who Must Comply?

• Residents
• Commercial businesses
• Commercial food generators
• Schools
• Government entities

 Residential Organic Waste Collection Program

 The City together with EDCO Waste & Recycling Services will be launching the new Organics Recycling Program. National City residents will be provided with up to three commingled green carts that will co-collect food scraps and yard waste. The organic material collected will be taken to EDCO’s Anaerobic Digestion Facility in Escondido, CA to be converted into renewable natural gas and anaerobic compost.

 For more information on how to subscribe to the collection program, click here (https://national-city.edcodisposal.com/)

 Food Recovery from Businesses

 Californians throw away nearly 6 million tons of food scraps or food waste each year. This represents about 18 percent of all the material that goes to landfills. In order for California to reach its goal of 75% source reduction, recycling and composting, food waste must be addressed. 

 Starting in 2022, large food-service businesses must donate surplus edible food to food recovery organizations with additional businesses starting in 2024. California is working towards a 2025 goal to redirect and donate 20% of edible food to those in need.

 The Regional Solid Waste Association (RSWA) has budgeted to support the RSWA member cities (Encinitas, Escondido, National City, Poway, Solana Beach, Vista, Del Mar) to hire Solana Center and San Diego Food System Alliance to provide compliance support services for the Edible Food Recovery portion of SB 1383.

 Edible food means food intended for people to eat, including food not sold because of:

• Appearance
• Age
• Freshness
• Grade
• Size
• Surplus 

Edible food includes but is not limited to: 

•  Prepared foods
•  Packaged foods
•  Produce 

By January 1, 2022, the jurisdictions must establish an Edible Food Recovery Program for commercial edible food generators with the assistance of supporting consultants in order to provide education and outreach.

The next steps in the process includes developing a food recovery educational campaign to educate top generators and to deliver resources to generators.

 The edible food recovery program requirements include educating generators about food recovery options, increasing access to food recovery organizations and services, evaluating edible food recovery capacity, increasing edible food recovery capacity, monitoring generators, and reporting edible food recovery to California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle).

 Education is a critical component for the establishment of a successful edible food recovery program. This webinar will provide a detailed overview of the edible food recovery requirements for SB 1383 and how the food recovery organizations can achieve compliance with the law, and a timeline for completing a required capacity survey.

 CalRecycle has provided information about the requirements on their website: https://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/organics/slcp/foodrecovery/donors

 SB 1383 places mandated food donors into two tiers. This tier system allows businesses and jurisdictions more time to prepare to expand or build new food recovery infrastructure and capacity to donate foods that are harder to safely store and distribute. 

 The regulations require mandated food donors to donate for people to eat the maximum amount of their edible food that would otherwise be disposed.

To ensure that the maximum amount of edible food is recovered, the regulations require that mandated food donors establish contracts or written agreements with food recovery organizations and services.

Food recovery organizations and services vary in the amount and types of food they can receive, so mandated food donors may need to establish contracts or written agreements with multiple food recovery organizations and services to be in compliance. 

Commercial Edible Food Generators: Tier 1 & Tier 2

The San Diego Food System Alliance held a 1-hour webinar Food Donation 101: Best Practices for Starting a Food Donation Program of the overview of SB 1383 requirements with a breakdown of food donation best practices for your business. The webinar recording can be accessed here

RSWA Webinar Slide Deck

Food Recovery & Hunger Organizations

 The San Diego Food Systems Alliance, San Diego Food Bank, Feeding San Diego, and County of San Diego are reaching out to food recovery and hunger relief organizations to inform them about state law SB 1383 that will change the dynamics of food recovery in San Diego County. A 1-hour virtual webinar, sponsored by the Regional Solid Waste Association (RSWA), was held on October 7^th.

 As a follow-up from the webinar, below are some links and resources:

• Webinar Recording: the full recording of the live webinar can be found here. The presentation slides are also attached.

• SB 1383 Overview for Hunger Relief Nonprofits: attached is a two-page handout that provides a high-level overview of SB 1383 and summarizes most of the content covered during the webinar presentation. This handout can also be accessed electronically here.

• Jurisdiction Contacts for SB 1383: also attached is a contact list for each city. If you have questions about your reporting or recordkeeping requirements under SB 1383, please locate your city representatives in this document and contact them directly.

Finally, food recovery and hunger relief organizations are asked to please monitor your email inbox for the Food Recovery Capacity Survey that will be sent out by the County of San Diego later this month. As a reminder, completion of this survey is a requirement of SB 1383, and food recovery organizations must complete the survey within 60 days of receiving it.

SB 1383 Food Recovery Webinar

Jurisdiction Contacts

SB1383 Overview for Hunger Relief Nonprofits

Where to Donate?

Feeding San Diego

San Diego Food Bank

HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE

Household Hazardous Waste is unused or leftover portions of products containing hazardous chemicals used around your household including your garden and vehicles for example.   To reduce the amount of Household Hazardous Waste your generate, please buy oily what you need and use it entirely.  Choose less toxic alternatives and recyclables.  Products labeled "Caution," "Warning," "Danger," "Poison," "Toxic," "Flammable," or "Corrosive" are considered hazardous. 

Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) includes but is not limited to items:

 * Motor oil can be recycled thereby conserving a natural resource.  When motor oil is poured into the ground, it pollutes our environment.  Take used motor oil to a State Certified Used Oil Collection Center for recycling to protect the environment and conserve a valuable resource.  For more information on Used Motor Oil, Oil Filter Recycling, and State Certified Used Oil Collection Center locations, visit CalRecycle.

Motor Oil Recycling Tips:

• When draining used motor oil, use a clean plastic container with a tight lid.
• Reuse your used motor oil container and store it safely, away from children and pets.
• Don't mix used motor oil with chemicals, gasoline, water, or other substances.
• Use a resizable 5-gallon or smaller size container.
• Call the Collection Center to confirm the amount of oil accepted.

Universal Waste:

For more information for Per California State Law effective February 8, 2006, Universal Waste items cannot be disposed of in your trash or recycling bin. Universal waste includes but is not limited to items that contain mercury and heavy metals and are common household items such as: 

• Common batteries, fluorescent light tubes or other mercury-containing lamps, thermostats, electric switches and relays
• Electronic devices such as televisions, computers, cell phones, telephones, and microwave ovens
• Novelty items such as greeting cards that play music when opened, maze games
• Aerosol cans that are not empty or labeled toxic or flammable

Electronic Waste                            

Electronic Waste (E-Waste) consists of broken or obsolete electronic products that may contain toxic materials such as lead, barium and mercury, and require special handling.  Examples of E-Waste include:

• Computers                                                                                                                                                  
• Televisions
• VCRs                                                                                                             
• Stereos
• Copiers
• Printers
• Fax Machines

E-Waste that is still in working condition can often be donated to local schools or reuse organizations such as Goodwill.  For E-Waste recycling options available, visit www.wastefreesd.org.

Prescription Drugs:   

 Pharmaceutical waste refers to unused or expired prescription and over-the-counter drugs or medications, substances intended to be swallowed, inhaled, injected, applied to the skin or eyes, or otherwise absorbed; veterinary drugs; diagnostic agents; and nutritional supplements.

Do not flush unused, unwanted, and expired medications down the toilet.  Put them in drains or throw them away with the trash.  Always make sure to keep medication out of reach of children and pets.  Unused, unwanted, and expired medications can be taken to a San Diego County Prescription Drug Collection Box Location and turned in anonymously in a secure collection drop-box.

When disposing of medication, make sure to remove all labels with personal information and recycle the containers at home.  Place unneeded pills into plastic container or zip lock bag.

>>Find a San Diego County Prescription Drug Collection Box Location 

Sharps (Needles)

Sharp Waste refers to used hypodermic needles, pen needles, intravenous needles, syringes, lancets, and other devices that penetrate the skin.  Previously there was no restriction on how to dispose of sharps. In response to the increasing usage trends (increased cases of diabetes, growing aged population) and health risks posed to children, workers, and the general public, it is now illegal to place home-generated sharps waste in solid waste collection containers, including recycling and green waste containers (SB 1305 revision of a section of the State's Medical Waste Management Act).

 Place used sharps in containers to be used for storing and transporting.  Containers should be rigid, puncture resistant, have a lid, and labeled as "Sharps."  Examples include, but are not limited to: Red containers designated for sharps waste, coffee cans with lids (hard plastic or metal), bleach/detergent bottles, milk jugs, and hard plastic condiment containers (or other container approved by the department or local enforcement agency).  Take the container to the South Bay Regional Household Hazardous Waste Facility.  See:  City of Chula Vista Household Hazardous Waste Information. 

PROPER HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL

It is dangerous and illegal to discard any type of Household Hazardous Waste into the trash, a storm drain, or down the sewer drain.   Instead use up the product as intended or take the unused portion to the South Bay Household Hazardous Waste collection facility.  For more information go to www.wastefreesd.orgor www.earth911.com

For additional information please call 1-619-691-5122 or visit:

City of Chula Vista Household Hazardous Waste Information

Facility location: 1800 Maxwell Road, Chula Vista
Facility Hours: Wednesday and Saturday 9 AM – 1 PM, Except for holiday weekends
Limits: 15 gallons or 125 Lbs. of waste per household

The Cities of National City, Chula Vista, and Imperial Beach are committed to work for Zero Waste.

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN!