TO: Napa County Climate Action Committee
FROM: Brian D. Bordona, Director of Napa County Planning, Building & Environmental Services
REPORT BY: Jesse Gutiérrez, Principal Planner, Sustainability
SUBJECT: Overview of California SB 1383: Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy
RECOMMENDATION
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Receive a presentation on SB 1383 by Amanda Griffis, Supervising Environmental Resource Specialist for Napa County Public Works and staff to the Upper Valley Waste Management Agency.
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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California
Code of Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Landfills are the third largest source of methane in California. Organic waste in landfills emits:
• 20% of the state’s methane, a climate super pollutant that heats 84 times more than carbon dioxide.
• Air pollutants like PM 2.5, which contributes to health conditions like asthma.
Landfilled food and other organic waste rotting in landfills emits methane climate pollution contributing to California’s hotter summers, more frequent droughts, and more wildfires. To reduce methane pollution and other short-lived climate pollutants, California passed SB 1383 (Lara, 2016). The law set targets for 2025:
• 75% less organic waste sent to landfills.
• 20% of unsold, still-edible food sent to food recovery organizations.
Organics like food scraps, yard trimmings, paper, and cardboard make up half of what Californians dump in landfills. Cutting short-lived climate pollutants can have the fastest impact on the climate. (CalRecycle.ca.gov 2026)
Californians send 2.5 billion meals worth of still-fresh, unsold food to landfills each year as 1 in 5 Californians does not have enough to eat. SB 1383 requires jurisdictions to: establish or strengthen existing food recovery networks, require mandated food donors to donate the maximum amount of edible food that would otherwise be disposed and establishes record keeping requirements for food recovery organizations and services.
Amanda Griffis is a Supervising Environmental Resource Specialist with Napa County Public Works and staff to the Upper Valley Waste Management Agency. Amanda and her team are responsible for overseeing three franchise waste services agreements providing services to residents and businesses in Napa County, Town of Yountville, City of St Helena and City of Calistoga. The Recycling and Waste Division is also responsible for ensuring compliance with AB 939 and SB 1383. These waste reduction laws require design and implementation, outreach and monitoring and state reporting. Amanda also acts as the lead for Countywide communications regarding programs designed and implemented for compliance with the food recovery portion of SB 1383.