Solid waste: organic waste: diversion: biomethane.

Assembly Member Aguiar-Curry's organic waste legislation expands California's framework for converting landfill-bound materials into renewable resources by incorporating pipeline biomethane and defining thermal decomposition processes. The bill requires the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to include pipeline biomethane derived exclusively from organic waste among the products that local jurisdictions can procure to meet their organic waste recovery targets by January 2027.

The legislation adds a formal definition of pyrolysis to state code as "the thermal decomposition of material at elevated temperatures in the absence or near absence of oxygen." This technical clarification provides regulatory certainty for jurisdictions evaluating waste conversion technologies.

Local governments receive new flexibility in meeting procurement requirements through provisions allowing direct expenditures on community composting operations and equipment used to apply recovered organic materials. The bill authorizes jurisdictions to count up to 10 percent of their procurement targets through locally-produced mulch from tree trimming operations and recovered edible food, provided specific documentation and contamination control measures are implemented. Rural jurisdictions maintain existing exemptions from organic waste collection and procurement mandates until 2037.

The measure aligns with California's methane reduction goals by expanding pathways for converting organic waste into renewable natural gas while maintaining environmental safeguards. The Department must evaluate conversion factors for organic materials and prioritize local uses of processed organics when developing implementation regulations.