AB 939, the Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, requires every city and county in California to divert at least 50 percent of its solid waste from landfills through source reduction, recycling, and composting. The law made local governments responsible for hitting that number, gave the state authority to review their plans, and set daily penalties for jurisdictions that don’t make a genuine effort to comply. Nearly every California recycling and organics rule that came after — AB 341, AB 1826, SB 1383 — sits on top of the framework AB 939 built.
The 50 Percent Diversion Requirement
AB 939 set two deadlines. By January 1, 1995, each jurisdiction had to divert 25 percent of its solid waste away from landfills. By January 1, 2000, that figure rose to 50 percent.1California Legislative Information. California Public Resources Code PRC 41780 Diversion under the statute means keeping material out of the ground through three specific methods: source reduction (producing less waste to begin with), recycling, and composting.
The Legislature later declared a policy goal of 75 percent diversion by 2020, but that target is aspirational. CalRecycle cannot require any jurisdiction to exceed the original 50 percent rate.2California Legislative Information. California Public Resources Code PRC 41780.01 Fifty percent remains the legal floor. Many jurisdictions do better voluntarily.
How Compliance Is Measured Today
The original method estimated total waste generated and calculated the percentage diverted. It proved hard to verify. In 2008, SB 1016 replaced it with a disposal-based indicator: the per-capita disposal rate.3CalRecycle. Per Capita Disposal and Goal Measurement Instead of estimating diversion, CalRecycle now tracks the actual pounds of waste each jurisdiction sends to landfills per person per day. The formula divides annual disposal tonnage by population and then by 365.4California Legislative Information. SB 1016 Senate Bill – Chaptered
Every jurisdiction has a target per-capita disposal rate calculated from its historical waste data from 2003 through 2006. If the current rate stays at or below that target, the jurisdiction is considered in compliance with the 50 percent mandate. Landfill operators and haulers report the underlying disposal data, giving the state a direct read on what’s actually being buried.
Jurisdictions submit an Electronic Annual Report each year covering disposal numbers, the status of local recycling and composting programs, and any changes to planning documents. The same report also documents compliance with the later mandates layered on top of AB 939.5CalRecycle. Annual Reporting Requirements
Planning Documents Every Jurisdiction Must Produce
AB 939 doesn’t stop at setting a number. It requires each jurisdiction to write and maintain plans showing how it will hit that number.
The core document is the Source Reduction and Recycling Element. Every city prepares one, and it must lay out the specific programs the jurisdiction will use to reach its diversion targets — curbside collection, commercial recycling, source reduction efforts, and the rest.6California Legislative Information. California Code PRC 41000 Counties prepare a parallel version for unincorporated areas.
Each county also produces a Household Hazardous Waste Element covering the safe collection, recycling, treatment, and disposal of items like paint, batteries, pesticides, and cleaning solvents that shouldn’t enter the regular waste stream.7California Legislative Information. California Code PRC 41510 These individual plans feed into a broader Countywide Integrated Waste Management Plan that functions as a regional roadmap. The planning process includes public hearings and periodic updates.
Paying for the Programs
AB 939 requires each jurisdiction to identify a funding source for its plan and authorizes cities and counties to impose fees on solid waste to cover the costs. The fees must be based on the type or amount of waste and are limited to the actual costs of preparing, adopting, and implementing the plan.8Justia Law. California Public Resources Code PRC 41900-41904 A jurisdiction can collect the fees directly or have its waste haulers collect them. Many counties tack a per-ton surcharge onto waste delivered to landfills within their borders.
CalRecycle Oversight and Penalties
AB 939 originally created the California Integrated Waste Management Board. That agency has since been folded into the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery — CalRecycle — inside the California Environmental Protection Agency. Any reference in California law to the old Waste Management Board now applies to CalRecycle.9California Legislative Information. California Public Resources Code PRC 40400
CalRecycle reviews and approves local planning documents and conducts independent reviews of each jurisdiction’s progress at least once every two years.10Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations 14 CCR 18772 When a jurisdiction is falling behind and not making meaningful progress, CalRecycle holds a public hearing and can issue a compliance order.
Ignoring that order carries a real cost. If CalRecycle finds that a jurisdiction has failed to make a good faith effort to implement its Source Reduction and Recycling Element or Household Hazardous Waste Element after receiving a compliance order, it can impose penalties of up to $10,000 per day until the required programs are in place.11California Legislative Information. California Public Resources Code PRC 41850 For smaller cities, even a short stretch of noncompliance can strain a budget.
Good faith effort is evaluated on several factors: how many businesses are complying with local programs, whether the jurisdiction is conducting outreach and monitoring, the availability of recycling markets and processing infrastructure, and whether the jurisdiction has taken steps within its control to remove barriers to siting waste facilities. Rural jurisdictions receive some additional consideration for low population density and distance to markets.
Laws Built on Top of AB 939
If you’re dealing with AB 939 in 2026, you’re almost certainly dealing with three later statutes at the same time.
AB 341: Mandatory Commercial Recycling
Passed in 2011 and amended by SB 1018 in 2012, AB 341 requires any business generating four or more cubic yards of solid waste per week to arrange recycling service. Multifamily residential properties with five or more units are covered on the same terms.12CalRecycle. Mandatory Commercial Recycling Local jurisdictions implement the commercial recycling program and educate covered businesses about compliance.
AB 1826: Mandatory Commercial Organics Recycling
AB 1826 (2014) extended mandatory recycling to organic waste specifically — food scraps, yard trimmings, untreated wood waste, and food-soiled paper. Businesses must recycle their organic waste, and jurisdictions must run organic waste recycling programs. CalRecycle progressively lowered the threshold, and as of 2020 the requirement applies to businesses generating two or more cubic yards of total solid waste per week.13CalRecycle. Mandatory Commercial Organics Recycling
SB 1383: Organic Waste and Methane Reduction
SB 1383 is the most aggressive expansion of the AB 939 framework. Aimed at methane from organic waste decomposing in landfills, it set two statewide targets for 2025: a 75 percent reduction in organic waste sent to landfills (measured against a 2014 baseline) and recovery of at least 20 percent of edible food currently being thrown away, redirected to food recovery organizations for human consumption.14CalRecycle. California’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy The 20 percent edible food recovery goal is codified in Public Resources Code Section 42652.5.15California Legislative Information. California Public Resources Code PRC 42652.5
Under SB 1383, jurisdictions must provide organic waste collection to all residents and businesses, and commercial edible food generators like grocery stores and restaurants must arrange for surplus food to reach recovery organizations. CalRecycle has its own enforcement pathway for jurisdictions that fail to implement compliant programs. For a local government already carrying AB 939, AB 341, and AB 1826 obligations, SB 1383 is the largest single increase in compliance workload since the original act passed in 1989.