California Governor Jerry Brown has signed two landmark ant-waste bills that will dramatically reduce the disposal of organic waste.

AB 1826, by Assembly Member Wes Chesbro, will require businesses to separate their food scraps and yard trimmings for composting or anaerobic digestion.

AB 1594, by Assembly Member Das Williams, will eliminate a loophole in state law that allows yard trimmings, prunings, and other greenwaste that is used as landfill cover to count as being “diverted” from landfills.

Although California does have a robust recycling infrastructure for traditional recyclables, the state continues to landfill organic materials at a surprising rate. Food is the most prevalent item in the waste stream and more than 40% of all material going to landfills is readily compostable or anaerobically digestible. Thanks to these anti-waste bills and Governor Jerry Brown, these recyclables will now be required to be diverted from landfills. Way to go, California!