SAN DIEGO — Back in February, the San Diego City Council passed a new ordinance on recycling that brought the city in alignment with state guidelines.
Those new rules went into effect April 1. Before the changes were made, there were exceptions.
"If they had four cubic yards per week of collection or more, they had to recycle, but if they had less than four cubic yards of collection, they did not have to," Ken Prue, the city's Recycling Manager, said.
Now, all properties have to recycle. Multi-family properties have to arrange for recycling of organic materials -- for example, yard trimmings and wood scraps. Moreover, businesses have to recycle both organic materials and food waste, as well.
There will be a grace period where the city will help residents and businesses comply with the new recycling ordinance.
"For those new properties that were previously exempt from the requirements, there will be an educational focus," Prue said. "By July, that will shift to a traditional enforcement."
Still, the goal is to keep recyclables out of the landfill, as opposed to enforcement and fines.
WATCH: San Diego made millions from China from recycling, not anymore