That the City Council:

A. Receive and file this report;
 

B. Authorize the Mayor to sign the attached response letter to the Orange County Grand Jury; and,
 

C. Direct staff to submit the signed response letter to the Orange County Grand Jury.

The Orange County Grand Jury recently conducted a study and issued a report to all Orange County cities entitled "Talking Trash: Recyclables and Organic Waste." A copy of the Grand Jury report is attached. All Orange County cities, including the City of La Habra, have been mandated by California Penal Code sections 933 and 933.05 to respond to the findings and recommendations made by the Grand Jury in their report.

In their report, the Orange County Grand Jury (OCGJ) reviewed the progress that cities were making in the implementation of SB 1383 in Orange County. SB 1383 is a law that was passed in 2016 that mandates that agencies and cities responsible for collecting solid waste to divert organic waste, including food scraps from the landfills. The Grand Jury report focused on several specific categories, including waste container standardization; fines, funding and enforcement; education and outreach; and procurement of organic waste products. The Grand Jury inquiry determined that, in their opinion, container standardization is not being implemented fast enough. They also expressed concerns that waste hauling companies were collecting and retaining fines and requested information regarding how local jurisdictions were managing the fine collection program. The Grand Jury also expressed concern with how information regarding recycling was being disseminated to the public and questioned the effectiveness of the existing education and outreach methods. Finally, the Grand Jury raised some concerns about the procurement requirements and the many issues that Orange County cities are having in meeting the new state requirements.

The objectives of the Grand Jury, as stated in its report, are to:

1. Determine the actions that Orange County jurisdictions have taken to implement organics collection for their residential customers and how the jurisdictions measure the success of those actions.
2. Determine if local jurisdictions are conducting sufficient outreach and education given that one key to the success of SB 1383 is public participation.

The City is required to provide a written response to the Grand Jury for each of the findings and recommendations listed in the report no later than September 10, 2024. Staff has prepared the attached letter as the City's official response for Council's consideration and review.

If the City Council approves the proposed responses to the Grand Jury and authorizes the Mayor to sign the letter, staff will submit the City's response by or before the required deadline.

There is no fiscal impact associated with responding to the findings and recommendations of the Grand Jury report.