SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Throughout the remainder of October, local residents may notice South Tahoe Refuse (STR) employees in neon yellow vests peeking into trash, recycling, and yard waste carts that have been placed out for collection. STR is required to perform annual “lid lifts” on a sampling of customers as part of compliance monitoring for California’s SB 1383. The process involves staff briefly opening carts and bear boxes on collection day and surveying the material.
There are no penalties associated with the route reviews, but STR staff may snap a picture of the cart contents, and customers will receive feedback by receiving either an Oops! tag if things are not sorted correctly or a Great Job! tag if material seems to be in the appropriate container.
These route reviews will take place on the California side only, as they are part of Senate Bill 1383 – a California law that requires businesses and property owners to separate their organic waste from regular trash. The 3-cart system was put into place in Fall 2024 to comply with this law.
In the first year of the 3-cart program, 5,277.6 tons of yard waste were collected from residents’ carts and sent for composting. This is a 481 percent increase from the year before carts. For recycling, approximately 2,500 tons of material were sent to recycling facilities, which is a 34 percent increase from the year prior. STR wants to thank customers for their sorting efforts.
Residents should expect to see STR employees wearing high-visibility vests in City and El Dorado County neighborhoods between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on trash days throughout the month.