Manteca has hired a solid waste compliance officer.

A garbage cop, if you will, to make sure recycling separation rules as well as those governing carts placed curbside are followed.

It is part of Manteca’s efforts to step up its recycling efforts to comply with state mandates.

Those who have been following the rules for years often wondered why the city didn’t create such a position sooner given those that contaminate recyclables have often forced solid waste truckloads to be landfilled instead of recycled.

In doing so, it increased city costs as tipping fees to landfill items collected on city routes are more expensive. It also undermined the efforts of complying households to recycle items as required. 

The reason now is two-fold.

The state has raised the bar for how much cities must be divert from landfills meaning it needs to be recycled or repurposed.

The city has gone to great expense to put itself in a position to do just that. It is reflected in the higher monthly household rates that also reflects increased costs due primarily to inflation.

And the state also requires hiring such a compliance officer.

The city next month will start targeted and intense education efforts.

The compliance officer — along with interns — will be alerted to areas where solid waste collection crews notice lids on carts not being flush and organics (green cart) and recyclables (blue carts) being contaminated.

There also will be random checks throughout the city done by the compliance officer.

The initial step is “intense” education.

After a period, the city will switch to enforcement by issuing citations.

The effort will be aided by on-truck technology the city is in the process of acquiring that also includes cameras.

They will be able to pinpoint addresses as carts are tipped as well as get a look at whether what is going into the solid waste trucks collecting recyclables or food/yard waste isn’t contaminated.

The switch to collecting all three carts — brown (garbage), blue (recyclables), and green (food waste/yard waste) — that started last week is laying the foundation for the next step which is enforcement and education.

The weekly collection means essentially every household in the city has the capacity to at least double the recyclables and organic waste they are able to place curbside during a given yar.

That should eliminate households putting out carts not being able to have the lids sit flat and to refrain from comminating recyclables and organic waste.

It is the direct result up going to weekly instead of every other week collection.

Solid waste officials emphasis people are not required to place all of their carts out every week if they chose not to do so.

Next on the to do list for the solid waste division is to secure new contracts for both recyclables and organic waste to allow more items to be recycled or turned into compost.

Each vendor has different capabilities and licensing rules they operate by.

They also have capacity issues meaning they can only handle so many cities.

It is why cities in the region currently have different criteria for what can be recycled.

Manteca’s goal is to make recycling as robust as possible.

The city will be in a position in mid-2025 to make contractual changes.

Once a new vendor is secured — or the current vendors expand what it will take and can process — the city will then start informing and educating households on what additional items can be recycled.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com