Here is the short answer. Offices and commercial buildings in Los Angeles have to separate trash, recycling and organic waste, keep correctly colored and labeled containers wherever waste bins sit, check those containers for contamination, and train the people who use them. In the City of Los Angeles, collection runs through the recycLA franchise, so the hauler is assigned by zone. The cleaning crew's job is to keep the three streams separate from the desk to the dumpster, and that job should be written into the cleaning scope in plain terms.
Waste handling is one of the most common gray areas in a cleaning agreement. Tenants assume the crew sorts everything, crews assume tenants sort at the desk, and the hauler sees the result at the dumpster. California law puts the obligation on the business and the property owner, not on the cleaning company, but the crew is the team that touches every bin each night. Anyone comparing commercial janitorial services in Los Angeles can use the points below to agree on who does what before service starts. This article explains the rules in general terms and is not legal advice; property managers should confirm details with their city and their hauler.
1. Know which state laws apply to your building
Three California laws shape commercial waste today. AB 341 made recycling mandatory from July 1, 2012 for businesses that generate four cubic yards or more of commercial solid waste per week and for multifamily buildings of five units or more. AB 1826 added organic waste, such as food scraps, landscape trimmings and food-soiled paper, and its threshold was later lowered to cover businesses generating 2 cubic yards or more of solid waste per week. SB 1383, effective January 1, 2022, goes further and requires businesses to subscribe to organics collection or self-haul to an approved facility. In practice, an office that produces organic waste should assume all three streams apply to it.
2. Understand how recycLA works in the City of Los Angeles
Inside the City of Los Angeles, commercial and large multifamily collection runs through recycLA, a franchise system that LA Sanitation and Environment (LASAN) has operated since 2017. The city is divided into 11 zones, and each zone is served by one assigned collection company. A business does not shop for a hauler; it uses the provider assigned to its zone. LASAN states that all recycLA customers must subscribe to and participate in organics recycling, and it offers a free rate assessment through the assigned provider to right-size bins and pickup frequency.
3. Check whether your address is actually in the City
Many buildings with a Los Angeles mailing address sit in separate cities with their own programs. Burbank, for example, enforces SB 1383 through its own municipal code and runs its own inspections. Buildings in other incorporated cities or in unincorporated county areas follow their local jurisdiction's rules, haulers and container colors. Before writing a waste scope, confirm which jurisdiction collects from the building, because that decides the bin set and who to call when something goes wrong.
4. Learn the three-container color system
SB 1383 standardizes container colors: blue for recycling, green for organics, and gray or black for trash. Containers must also be labeled with the main items that are accepted and the main items that are prohibited. Businesses may keep existing correctly functioning containers until they wear out or until January 1, 2036, whichever comes first. Internal containers, such as desk-side bins and break room sets, count as well, not only the large carts and dumpsters outside. A scope that says "empty trash" without mentioning colors or streams is out of step with how the rules are written.
5. Know what goes in each bin in Los Angeles
LASAN lists food waste, food-soiled paper and green waste as organics. That includes plate scrapings, coffee grounds, napkins, paper towels, coffee filters and pizza boxes. Plastics, including products labeled "compostable," do not belong in the green bin. Clean paper, cardboard and other recyclables go in the blue bin, and everything else goes in the black or gray bin. Posting LASAN's own sorting flyer at each station keeps the crew and the tenants working from the same list.
6. Put containers where waste is made
CalRecycle requires recycling and organics containers in every area where trash containers are provided for employees or customers, except restrooms. A container is not required for a material that an area does not generate, so a quiet office floor with no food may not need a green bin at every desk. Break rooms, kitchens, pantries and conference rooms where lunches are served usually do need all three. Ask the provider to map every container location during the walkthrough and to flag areas where a stream is missing.
7. Decide who separates what
The cleanest arrangement splits the work into three steps. Tenants and staff sort at the point of use by choosing the right container. The cleaning crew keeps each stream in its own liner, transports it without mixing, and places it in the matching outside container. The hauler collects, reports contamination problems, and may leave notices when a bin is wrong. When a bag arrives at the dumpster clearly mixed, the crew should not quietly toss it into trash; the scope should say whether the crew re-sorts it or reports it.
8. Make contamination checks part of the routine
SB 1383 requires businesses to periodically inspect organics containers for contamination and tell employees when a container is contaminated. The crew is in the best position to see this every night. A simple log noting the date, location and what was found gives the office manager something concrete to share with staff. Repeated problems at the same station usually point to a missing label, a missing bin or a container in the wrong spot, all of which are easy to fix.
9. Use liners and labels that make sorting visible
Liner choice affects how well the streams stay apart. Clear liners for recycling let the crew and the hauler see the contents, while matching liner colors or tags for each stream reduce mix-ups on the cart. Labels should face the user, show pictures as well as words, and match the outside containers. Compostable-looking plastic bags should not be assumed to be acceptable in the green bin; confirm liner rules for organics with the assigned hauler before ordering supplies.
10. Plan for break rooms and food
Food waste is where most contamination happens in offices. Coffee stations, shared refrigerators and catered meetings produce food scraps, cups, lids, utensils and packaging all at once. A good scope sets a weekly refrigerator clean-out with organics going to the green bin, and it assigns someone to empty liquid from cups before they reach a recycling liner. Buildings with cafes, restaurants or large kitchens may also fall under SB 1383's edible food recovery rules, which are separate from janitorial work and belong with the food operator.
11. Keep special wastes out of all three bins
Some office items cannot go in any of the three containers. California treats batteries, fluorescent and other mercury lamps, many electronic devices and non-empty aerosol cans as universal waste, and state guidance says no person or business may dispose of universal waste in the trash. Toner cartridges, cleaning chemicals and broken equipment also need their own handling. The scope should state that the crew sets these items aside in a marked spot and reports them, rather than bagging them with regular trash.
12. Fit the plan to the building type
Downtown Los Angeles and Century City towers usually have central loading docks, compactors and building rules for how carts move through freight elevators, so the crew's job ends at a designated staging area. Westside creative offices and converted warehouses tend to have open kitchens and shared pantries, which makes break room sorting the main challenge. Smaller multi-tenant buildings often share outdoor bins, so one tenant's mistake can contaminate a container for everyone. Experienced commercial janitorial services in Los Angeles will ask about these details during the walkthrough rather than applying one routine to every address.
13. Write the waste stream rules into the cleaning scope
The table below turns the rules above into scope language. It is a starting point, not legal advice, and local rules or hauler instructions take priority. Attaching it to the agreement gives both sides a shared reference when something changes. When reviewing proposals for commercial janitorial services in Los Angeles, ask each provider to respond to every line.
Waste streamCalifornia or LA ruleWhat the cleaning scope should sayTrash (gray or black)SB 1383 container colors; LASAN black binEmpty nightly; keep separate liners; never add recycling or organics to trash bagsRecycling (blue)AB 341 mandatory commercial recycling; SB 1383 blue containerClear liners; move to blue outside container only; report heavy contaminationOrganics (green)AB 1826 and SB 1383; recycLA organics subscriptionFood scraps and food-soiled paper to green; no plastics or "compostable" plastics; hauler-approved liners onlyContainer placementContainers wherever trash bins are provided, except restroomsMap of every sorting station; flag missing streams monthlyLabelsAccepted and prohibited items shown on containersReplace damaged or missing labels; match inside and outside colorsContamination checksPeriodic inspection and notice to employeesNightly visual check; written log shared with the office contactUniversal wasteNo universal waste in the trashSet aside batteries, lamps, electronics and aerosols in a marked spot and reportTrainingAnnual education for employees, contractors and tenantsCrew trained on the building's bin set; refresher when rules or bins change14. Train everyone once a year and review the setup
SB 1383 requires businesses to educate employees, contractors and tenants each year on proper sorting, and LASAN and the assigned hauler provide sorting materials that make this easier. The cleaning crew should receive the same briefing so that what staff are told matches what happens at night. Review the container map, labels and contamination log at least once a year and whenever the building changes tenants, layout or hauler instructions. Since January 2024, the City of Los Angeles can penalize commercial and multifamily properties that do not have organics service, so keeping this review on the calendar is simple risk control. The best commercial janitorial services in Los Angeles treat waste sorting as part of the nightly job, not an add-on.
Waste rules in Los Angeles come down to three streams, the right colors and labels, containers where waste is made, regular contamination checks and yearly training. Most of that work is decided by a clear scope and carried out by the people who empty the bins each night. Offices ready to put this into writing can compare janitorial companies in Los Angeles and ask each one to work from the table above.
This article was contributed by American Janitorial Services Los Angeles, a commercial cleaning company serving Los Angeles.
