Latest Topic Brief
Our Impact at a Glance - April 2026
Latest Agency Update
Agency Update
Agency Update - Spring 2026
Updated Apr 28, 2026
StopWaste.Org Gets a Fresh Look Our website, StopWaste.org, is the most visible face of the Agency, and a key tool for connecting people to our work—whether that’s taking action at home, navigating policies and requirements, or partnering with us. We approached this initiative with an incredible amount of intention and rigor from start to finish. Our Communications team focused on making the site clear and accessible, and ensuring it truly serves our communities, with a structure that better reflects our goals and priorities. The new website lets you navigate easily to find what you need
Recent News
News
Fines for Lack of Compost and Recycling Service Start January 2023
Updated Jan 16, 2025
State and local law require businesses, nonprofits, institutions, schools, and multifamily properties in Alameda County to have compost (organics) and recycling collection service or an approved waiver. StopWaste will begin to issue citations for non-compliance starting in January 2023.
News
StopWaste Wins 2022 Edible Communities Sustainability Award
Updated Jun 9, 2023
StopWaste was recently recognized with the 2022 Edible Communities Sustainability Award for our accomplishments in helping residents, businesses, and schools reduce waste and build healthier, more resilient communities.
News
Alameda County Schools Launch Reusable Foodware Pilot Project
Updated Jan 16, 2025
Alameda County’s second schools reusable foodware pilot project launched in Alameda following a successful inaugural launch in Emeryville—replacing single-use lunch trays and plastic utensils with reusable stainless-steel ones.
Agency Update
Agency Update - Fall 2022
Updated Oct 4, 2022
Strengthening Partnerships in Food Recovery Efforts Over the past decade, StopWaste has cultivated strong relationships with food recovery organizations across Alameda County, engaging in conversations around tackling food insecurity, building a resilient and inclusive regional food system, and more recently, planning for the needs of these organizations during the rule-making process for SB 1383. In 2021, StopWaste rallied these stakeholders to formalize the Alameda County Food Recovery Network (ACFRN), which serves as a space for over 45 food recovery organizations, city staff, and other
Agency Update
Agency Update - Summer 2022
Updated Jun 22, 2022
Meet our New Grantees! Our waste prevention grantees are not only leaders in innovative solutions to preventing waste, they are helping to build resilient communities in Alameda County. Take Hope 4 the Heart, an all-volunteer nonprofit that rescues edible food and provides weekly food deliveries to affordable housing and senior communities across the county. Or Make It Home, whose mission is to furnish homes of families and individuals transitioning out of crisis or homelessness with donated, gently used, repurposed furnishings and household goods. We welcome you to explore previous and
Agency Update
Agency Update - Spring 2022
Updated Jun 22, 2022
New SB 1383 Resources California’s new organics and recycling law, SB 1383, is in effect, and StopWaste is continually developing resources to inform residents and businesses of requirements. We recently conducted an informational webinar to help businesses, nonprofits, and institutions in Alameda County understand current recycling and composting requirements and how to comply in four easy steps. We now have a dedicated SB 1383 Food Recovery webpage that provides information about the food recovery requirements and resources/support tools. Additionally, a list of countywide Food Recovery
Agency Update
Agency Update - Winter 2022
Updated Jan 20, 2022
New Composting & Recycling Law Goes Into Effect California’s largest solid waste regulation in decades went into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, aiming to reduce organics going to landfill by 75 percent by 2025. The move is a critical step: when organic matter rots in landfills it creates harmful methane emissions that contribute to climate change and threaten the health of our communities. Under the law: All compostable materials like food, paper, and yard waste must be sorted and collected for composting, Recyclables must be sorted and kept out of landfills, Food generating businesses must recover
Agency Update
Agency Update - Fall 2021
Updated Oct 18, 2021
Legislation Advances Circular Economy, Waste Prevention This month, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a suite of new bills as part of a new climate package that advance recycling, public health, waste prevention, circular economy, and truth in advertising. This is encouraging momentum, and we congratulate everyone for their hard work, including the Statewide Commission on Recycling Markets and Curbside Recycling, that led to the Governor's signing of these bills. Below are a few highlights: AB: 881 centers around taking greater responsibility of our waste, primarily plastics. The legislation
News
With Wendy Sommer Retiring, Timothy Burroughs Becomes New StopWaste Executive Director
Updated Apr 23, 2025
The Alameda County Waste Management Authority selected current Deputy Executive Director Timothy Burroughs as the Agency’s incoming Executive Director, taking over leadership from Wendy Sommer, who, after 30 dedicated years of service at the Agency, will retire in July 2021.
Agency Update
Agency Update - Summer 2021
Updated Apr 23, 2025
Meet Our New Grantees! From rescuing food to feed vulnerable communities to keeping e-waste out of the landfill through repair, StopWaste’s new grantees are committed to not only preventing waste, but also helping to build resilient communities across Alameda County. A total of $580,985 in grant funding will go to 49 local nonprofit and for-profit organizations this year for projects to support and improve food recovery and donation, salvage, reuse, repair, and redistribution infrastructure. Since 1996, StopWaste has provided more than $9 million in funding to local organizations and