County supervisors on Tuesday approved the resolution necessary to relieve Del Norte of the burden that comes with a new state law targeting single-use packaging and to-go flatware recycling.
But, though the resolution notes that the county is eligible for a rural exemption to State Senate Bill 54 —the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act — Del Norte is also a good venue for pilot projects as the program expands, Solid Waste Management Authority Director Tedd Ward said.
On Oct. 20, Ward told the DNSWMA Board of Commissioners that the resolution he brought to county supervisors Tuesday would also mention the opportunity for working with the state organization responsible for meeting those recycling targets.
“We’re suggesting how these programs might change in the years ahead as the Circular Action Alliance needs to plan for how they’re going to expand the program,” Ward told the DNSWMA Board. “Part of what they need to do, for example, is address to-go food ware. And, as kind of an island community, that creates an opportunity for the Circular Action Alliance to work with groups like the Del Norte County Unified School District to maybe roll out a reusable food ware program to meet some of their new targets.”
SB 54, which became law in 2022, aims for a 25% reduction in plastic packaging as well as a 65% recycling rate for all recyclable packaging by 2032. The law requires single-use packaging and to-go food ware producers to pay the Circular Action Alliance based on the volume of material they place into the state’s economy, according to Ward’s staff report.
The Circular Action Alliance would use the fees producers pay to comply with the state law to expand upon existing recovery programs and facilities, Ward stated.
Currently, Recycle Del Norte collects the community’s recyclable materials, consolidating them at their facility on Harrold Street before taking them to Recology Humboldt on the Samoa Peninsula for processing.
Recology Humboldt also processes Humboldt County’s recyclable materials. According to Ward’s staff report, Humboldt County is not eligible for a rural exemption to SB 54 and assistance from the Circular Action Alliance may impact per-ton processing costs Recology Humboldt incurs.
It’s not yet clear how Del Norte County’s processing fees to Recology ‚ $155.85 per ton, would be impacted, Ward writes in his staff report.
On Tuesday, District 5 Supervisor Dean Wilson, chairman of the DNSWMA Board of Commissioners, said he’s concerned about whether exemption Del Norte is eligible for would sunset in five or 10 years.
“We have to be cognizant of the fact that so much of this stuff will eventually come back and, as they say, haunt us,” Wilson said, though Ward said there isn’t a sunset for the SB 54 exemption.
District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard praised Ward for his diligence in seeking exemptions to state senate laws surrounding solid waste and recycling, mentioning State Senate Bill 1383, which sought to reduce organic waste disposal by 75% in 2025.
“I’ve heard directly from staff at RCRC (Rural County Representatives of California), your participation and institutional knowledge has really helped guide their advocacy at the state legislature for rural communities,” Howard told Ward. “You do a very important job, not only for Del Norte and its waste stream, but for the State of California and those counties that don’t have a similar institutional knowledge.”
