As California pushes cities to keep organic waste out of landfills, Ripon is taking a different approach—one that city officials say will save residents money and keep trash day simple.
As California pushes cities to keep organic waste out of landfills, Ripon is taking a different approach—one that city officials say will save residents money and keep trash day simple.
Senate Bill 1383, signed into law in 2016, set aggressive rules for reducing methane emissions by slashing the amount of organic material sent to landfills. The law requires cities to cut organic waste in landfills by 75% by the end of 2025. Many communities have responded by rolling out a three-can system: residents must separate their trash into landfill, recycling, and organic waste bins, with city staff checking for compliance and extra trucks added to collect the third can.
But in its Fall 2025 Newsletter, the City of Ripon announced it’s taking a different route. After weighing the options, Ripon decided to stick with its familiar two-can system. Residents can continue to use a black can for general trash and a green can for yard waste. The key difference is that now, everything in the black can is delivered to a high-diversion waste processing facility instead of the landfill. This nearby facility is equipped to sort the trash into proper waste streams—meeting the state’s requirements without requiring residents to change their routines or the city to add costly new services.
Ripon’s approach is designed to be as affordable as possible, especially since there is no extra state funding to cover the costs of SB 1383.
Residents have two options for waste collection. The first, single-container collection, lets households put all their trash in the black can, which is then sorted at the high-diversion facility. The second, and recommended, option is to use the green can for yard waste and the black can for everything else. Yard waste goes straight to a composting facility—a less expensive process than sending it through the high-diversion facility.
The city estimates that sticking with a two-can system and sending black can waste to a high-diversion facility saves each Ripon household about $114 per year compared to the three-can approach used by many other cities.
Ripon residents can continue their usual trash routine, while the city works to meet California’s new organic waste rules without passing along significant new costs.