Rural Jurisdiction Waste Disposal Reduction Resources
Rural jurisdictions—bookmark this page! This is the home for information and ideas directed toward the rural city, county, or regional agency. The links to the left connect you to information on achieving the goals of California’s Integrated Waste Management Act (IWMA), including rural assistance, successful diversion programs, grants and loans available to rural jurisdictions, as well as other useful links.
The Rural Challenge
The IWMA requires California jurisdictions to achieve 50 percent waste disposal reduction. California’s 39 rural jurisdictions and 28 counties, and 15 rural regional agencies, face special challenges in meeting this requirement. Low population densities and small tax rolls, as well as long distance costs to collection facilities and recycling markets, make implementing cost-effective, solid waste diversion programs more difficult. Rural counties currently account for 4.7 percent of the total waste disposed in California.
This site will help rural jurisdictions share ideas about what works to reduce waste, locate available funding to implement programs, and apply for other assistance.
- Rural Reductions: Information on the Petition for Rural Reduction and other relief measures provided by law.
- Petition for Reduced Diversion Requirements for Rural Jurisdictions
- Grants, Payments, and Loans: CalRecycle offers funding authorized by legislation to help public and private entities create circular waste systems.
Who is Considered Rural?
A jurisdiction is defined as a “rural city,” a “rural county,” or a “rural regional agency” if it meets specific criteria.
Public Resources Code (PRC) section 40183-4 rev. 2008, defines a rural jurisdiction for the purposes of the Integrated Waste Management Act, as a jurisdiction that resides within a rural county. A rural county is defined as a county which disposes of less than 200,000 tons of waste annually.
A list is available of Disposal Tons for Rural Counties per the criteria in PRC section 40183-4.
Jurisdictions may run a Single-year Countywide Origin Detail DRS web report to determine what types of disposal their County generates in a given year for data up through calendar year 2019. For data after 2019, see Recycling and Disposal Reporting: Reports List.
For information related to rural requirements pursuant to AB 1826 Chesbro (Chapter 727, Statutes of 2014), please see Local Government Requirements and Resources.
For information related to rural requirements pursuant SB 1383 (Lara, Chapter 395, Statutes of 2016), please see Department-Issued Waivers.
Rural Regional Agencies
Per PRC section 40973, to qualify for:
- Rural Reductions (reduced diversion goal)–All members must meet all applicable criteria mentioned.
- Reduced Planning Requirements–All members must be in a “rural county.”
For more information contact: Local Assistance & Market Development, LAMD@calrecycle.ca.gov or (916) 341-6199.