For the most part, Ceres residents appear to be complying with the requirements to separate their waste between the regular trash, recycling and organics cans.

But some are not, as evidenced by a random review of cans picked up. It’s not that the city is being a trash Nazi, snooping into people’s trash but complying with the state Legislature’s requirement for a trash audit under Senate Bill 1383.

In September the city’s Solid Waste Division randomly picked up 100 cans along the residential and commercial routes in Ceres to see if sorting is done correctly between the regular garbage cans and the green organics cans and the blue recycling containers. If materials are placed in the wrong container, the city considers it “contaminated.”

The city found contamination in seven recycling carts, 11 organics carts, and one garbage cart, which Toni Cordell, an administrative analyst with the city of Ceres said is likely due to hazardous waste.

Bertolotti’s sanitation workers also often catch contamination when dumping cans on their routes.

“The only things that should go in the green cart would be yard waste and food waste essentially,” said Cordell. “Or food soiled paper.”

Since Jan. 1, 2022, Ceres residents have been using a third waste cart as mandated by state legislation to expand organics recycling. State lawmakers crafted the law to reduce the amount of trash going to landfills in California.

The introduction of a third container prompted the Ceres City Council to return to the old law for storage of garbage cans when it’s not collection day.

Since July 2021 it is against the Ceres Municipal Code for residents to leave containers in public view – even on private property – unless they are set out for collection. Containers may be set out on the curb the night before collection but must be stored out of view by the end of collection day.

Even though there is a widespread violation of the local law, during September city Code Enforcement officers issued only four garbage cart storage violation notices. Cordell said it’s not the highest priority for the three officers on staff.

There were 55 organic cart contamination violations in September. If contamination is observed, the cart won’t be dumped and a warning notice placed on the can.

The rules for the color-coded cans are as follows:

• The blue cart is for used exclusively for recyclables such as beverage containers and plastic bottles and jugs, paper, junk mail, newsprint, tin cans, glass bottles and jars and bottles. The blue cart will be collected every other week.

• The green cart is for organics such as food waste, grass clippings, yard waste, leaves, garden waste and food soiled paper. Food waste includes banana and other fruit peelings, discarded food from the plate, spoiled foods, out-of-date foods, meat scraps and fats. The green organics cart is collected weekly at the same time as the black waste cart.

• The black or gray cart is for all other household garbage which is collected each week.

The city reported to the Ceres City Council the following information about the collection of waste for September.

The city’s contract refuse hauler, Bertolotti, picked up 1,182 tons of residential garbage, 559 tons of residential organics, and nearly 30 tons of bulky items, such as furniture and appliances, at 99 locations. Bertolotti also picked up 181 tons of residential recycling materials.

A number of persons apparently didn’t get the word about illegally dump leaves and limbs in the street outside of the program dates, resulting in the collection of 2.37 tons of material.

The city of Ceres offers residential customers leaf and limb disposal pick-up service only between Oct. 1 and Jan. 9, on an every other week basis. Collection of leaf and limb debris occurs on the day after the residence’s scheduled recycling pick-up day.

This service is not provided for apartment complexes or businesses.

Leaf and limb piles will not be collected unless all of the following criteria have been met:

• Limbs must be cut in lengths of four feet or less and no larger than six inches in diameter.

• Place loose leaves and limbs in piles at least one foot away from the curb in front of the residence.

• Leaf and limb piles must not contain garbage, dirt, plastic bags, tree stumps, palm fronds or grass clippings.

During the off-season, residents should utilize their green carts for yard waste/organics disposal. All grass clippings must be placed in the green organics can, never in the gutter or street.

Illegal dumps continue to be a problem for the city with the Code Enforcement division initiating the clean-up of 167 locations in September that yielded 48.85 tons of waste. Bertolotti picked up another 1.41 tons at six illegal dumping sites in Ceres through the reporting system.

The city street sweepers picked up nearly 31 tons of material for the month.

Bertolotti took in 535 gallons of waste motor oil and 83 discarded oil filters last month.

The company started delivering the recycling carts to the remaining 390 businesses and multifamily residents that currently are required to have recycling services but have not subscribed independently under the requirements of AB 341.

During September the company collected 266 tons of commercial organics materials and 4.79 tons of commercial recycle materials.