Atherton

Atherton residents are on a quarterly billing cycle. This means you can expect to receive your GreenWaste invoice in January, April, July and October. If you have any questions about your billing, please contact Customer Service.

• Download Residential Rates – Effective Date, January 1, 2024 (PDF)
• Download the Physical Limitations Form

Program and Sorting Guidance

• What Goes Where
• Sorting Posters
• Residential Service Guide
• 2021 Sorting Changes
• Jan 9 Resident Workshop Slides

Newsletters

• • 2024
  • 2023
  • 2022

WHEN WILL GREENWASTE START PROVIDING SERVICE TO ATHERTON? GreenWaste will be the Town of Atherton’s official service provider as of January 1, 2021. RESIDENTS WITH A FRIDAY SERVICE DAY: Keep in mind that January 1 is a holiday, so your first actual service day will be Saturday, January 2.

WHEN WILL I BE BILLED BY GREENWASTE? GreenWaste will bill quarterly, during the first month of each quarter. This means you can expect your first bill in January, second bill in April, etc.

IS MY INDIVIDUAL SERVICE LEVEL GOING TO CHANGE? GreenWaste will be providing you the same level of service that you receive currently, based on the records we received from Recology during the month of December. All weekly recurring services will only be offered in GreenWaste provided carts.

WHAT ELSE IS CHANGING? Most significantly, GreenWaste will ultimately be processing all the materials collected in the Town to help the Town comply with new regulations. While food waste was previously accepted in the yard waste cart, food waste must now be placed in the Gray Mixed Compostables cart.

WHEN WILL I BE RECEIVING MY NEW GREENWASTE-ISSUED CARTS? WHAT CARTS WILL I BE RECEIVING? The cart replacement process will begin on January 18 and will occur during a 2-3 week period. Your carts will be replaced on your service day during that period. Set all carts in their service location by 6:30am on your service day, even if they are empty. Please leave carts out until 6pm, as the replacement will occur after the carts are serviced. GreenWaste and Recology are using the same cart removal/delivery subcontractor to minimize the opportunity for disruption. You will receive the same size and number of carts you currently have based on the information in Recology’s database. Your old carts will be removed at the same time your new carts are delivered.

WHAT IF I PURCHASED MY CARTS FROM A PREVIOUS HAULER? The cart delivery subcontractor will be removing all carts set out at the curb. If you have additional carts that you own and wish to keep, do not bring them to the curb during the replacement period. Please also keep in mind that these customer-owned carts may only be used for incidental extra material and may not be used for regular weekly collection.

WHAT IF I AM DELIVERED FEWER CARTS THAN I SET OUT? All carts set out Curbside for removal during the weeks of cart transition will be removed.  However, your account with Recology has a specific per cart subscription and there is a subscription fee (service and/or cart rental) associated with each cart. Only the amount of carts on that subscription will be replaced. We don’t want to begin charging for services you may not want to receive, so if you are currently paying for service on fewer carts than you set out, you will only be delivered the number and type of carts based on the information in Recology’s database. The excess carts will be removed but not replaced. In this case, a cart hanger will be left on your new carts indicating how many and what type of carts were removed and not replaced, and you can contact Customer Service if you would like to subscribe to additional services. IN SUMMARY: If you want excess carts removed but not replaced, you can set them out; but, if you want all carts removed and replaced (increasing your subscribed service level), contact Customer Service when you receive the cart hanger. If you do not want your owned carts replaced, do not set them out during the transition weeks.

WHAT MATERIALS ARE THE GRAY, GREEN AND BLUE CARTS EACH FOR?

• Gray Carts are for Mixed Compostables: garbage, food waste and food soiled paper
• Blue Carts are for Recyclables: clean and dry paper, plastic, glass and metal
• Green Carts are for Yard Trimmings

WHY IS FOOD WASTE MOVING TO THE GREEN CART? Our updated waste-sorting practices allow us to extract resources from all three waste streams and ensure the highest and best use of all materials recovered from those waste streams. By removing the food scraps and food soiled paper from the Green Cart, we are able to produce a higher quality end-product. The clean yard trimmings material from the Green Cart will be used to produce OMRI-listed compost, which is used in agricultural applications. When the contents of the Gray Cart are processed, the food scraps and food soiled paper will be recovered and turned into a landscape compost. Additionally, we have found that when food scraps are allowed to be mixed with yard waste, many customers still placed food waste in their garbage cart so there was food waste in both carts. This new program is designed to make it easier for customers to use while maximizing diversion from landfill.

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO PUT FOOD IN THE GRAY CART? GreenWaste can accept this material in nearly any form – loose or bagged (paper, compostable plastic, plastic). Since all material is processed through the Materials Recovery Facility (and garbage material is removed), the best way for our facility to accept the material is loose. If you’d like to bag the material, the best option is a paper bag or compostable plastic bag, with plastic bags being the least desirable.

WHY CAN’T WE ADD VEGETABLE SCRAPS TO THE GREEN CART ANY LONGER? When food waste is added to the Green Cart, the material can no longer be processed into an organic-certified OMRI-listed compost. Orchard fruit and vegetables from a garden (including pumpkins) that have NOT been brought into a building for preparation for consumption may be placed in the Green Cart. However, any fruit or vegetables grown that are prepared in any fashion for consumption must go into the Gray Cart.

WHAT IS BACKYARD SERVICE? HOW ARE BACKYARD SERVICE FEES ASSESSED? Backyard Service is an extra service provided by GreenWaste when the driver disembarks the vehicle to manually collect carts that are more than 5’ from the curb and not readily accessible by the collection vehicle. Backyard service allows collection in locations including a back or side yard, or other non-Curbside location. The fees are based on distance (0’ – 100’, then 50’ increments thereafter) and the total number of Gray Carts. Distance measurements begin just beyond the reach of the truck arm. NOTE: Only BLUE and GRAY Carts are eligible for new Backyard Service.

I RECEIVED A NOTICE THAT I AM GOING TO HAVE TO PAY FOR BACKYARD SERVICES AND I DIDN’T BEFORE. WHY? In order to make the new services cost-effective, GreenWaste is using fully-automated trucks, which means the driver does not need to exit the vehicle to collect carts. These trucks have an arm that reaches out to pick up the carts and empties the contents into the collection vehicle. The carts need to be easily accessible to the truck arm for curbside collection to occur efficiently. Backyard charges will apply when carts are set out at a location that require the driver to disembark the vehicle.

I HAVE A PERMANENT DISABILITY AND DON’T HAVE ASSISTANCE WITH MY CARTS, DO I HAVE TO PAY FOR BACKYARD SERVICE? Not necessarily. GreenWaste offers a program where Backyard service is provided for no additional charge for qualifying customers. You can review eligibility criteria and download an application here. If you prefer for an application to be mailed, please contact Customer Service.

HOW DO I SET OUT EXTRA MATERIAL FOR COLLECTION? MIXED COMPOSTABLE MATERIALS must be properly labeled, set out Curbside next to the Mixed Compostables cart and either:

1. Placed in a rigid or otherwise durable and lidded container where combined weight of a rigid container is less than sixty (60) pounds in weight, OR
2. Placed in a black or dark cinched and secured bag where the contents are less than thirty (30) pounds in weight.

RECYCLABLE MATERIALS must be properly labeled, set out Curbside next to the Recyclable Materials cart and either:

1. Placed in a rigid or otherwise durable and lidded container where the combined weight of a rigid container is less than sixty (60) pounds in weight, OR
2. Placed in a cinched and secured bag where the contents are less than thirty (30) pounds in weight.

CARDBOARD must be set out Curbside and secured such that the bundle or box remains intact upon lifting and:

1. Flattened and bundled/ tied or otherwise secured (g. with twine or tape) in a set-out that is no larger than 3’ x 3’ x 3’, OR
2. Cut and placed inside an intact cardboard box and secured (e. to prevent litter) in a set-out that is no larger than 2’ x 2’ x 2’.

YARD TRIMMINGS must be set out Curbside, and either:

1. Properly labeled and placed in a rigid or otherwise durable and lidded container where the combined weight of a rigid container is less than sixty (60) pounds in weight, OR
2. Woody debris that can be bundled/tied or otherwise secured where each set-out no larger than 3’ x 3’ x 3’.

SHORT-LIVED CLIMATE POLLUTANT REDUCTION STRATEGY: California Senate Bill 1383, effective January 1, 2022, requires all Californians to subscribe to their jurisdiction’s organics curbside collection service. Residents are required to properly sort their organic waste into the correct containers. For Atherton residents, GreenWaste provides both a mixed organics stream (Gray Cart) and a source separated organics stream (Green Cart). Food scraps, food soiled paper, and other organics are recovered from the Gray Cart at the GreenWaste MRF, which serves as a high diversion organic waste processing facility.

Sorting Guidance

• What Goes Where
• 8.5″x11″ Sorting Posters

MANDATORY RECYCLING: California Assembly Bill 341 (AB 341) became effective July 1, 2012. AB 341 mandates recycling for all businesses producing 4 cubic yards or more of garbage per week. Subscribing to recyclable materials collection services through GreenWaste will help ensure compliance with AB 341.

MANDATORY ORGANICS RECYCLING: California Assembly Bill 1826 (AB1826) was signed into law in 2014, mandating organics recycling for businesses in California. All businesses in California producing 2 cubic yards or more of total generated material per week are required to subscribe to organic material collection services. Since GreenWaste processes the Mixed Compostables, all businesses are automatically compliant with this regulation.

SHORT-LIVED CLIMATE POLLUTANT REDUCTION STRATEGY: California Senate Bill 1383, effective January 1, 2022, requires all Californians to subscribe to their jurisdiction’s organics curbside collection service. For Atherton businesses, GreenWaste provides both a mixed organics stream (Gray Cart) and a source separated organics stream (Green Cart). Food scraps, food soiled paper, and other organics are recovered from the Gray Cart at the GreenWaste MRF, which serves as a high diversion organic waste processing facility. Businesses are required to provide properly labeled and/or color-coded containers in all areas where disposal containers are provided, except in restrooms. Annually, businesses must educate employees, contractors, customers, and tenants on how to properly sort organic waste, and all of these users are required to properly sort these materials into the correct containers. Starting in 2022, some food service businesses must donate edible food to food recovery organizations, with others starting in 2024. GreenWaste will be working with the Town of Atherton to raise awareness and provide resources regarding food recovery.