San Diego County's disposal infrastructure faces a compounding capacity crisis — with Miramar Landfill approaching confirmed closure, Gregory Canyon permanently canceled, and no waste-to-energy alternative in the county, the residual waste pathway is narrowing precisely as regulatory pressure under SB 1383 transforms the material stream.

Feedstock Study · ~18 min read · DOC 01 OF 06

What this document is

A diagnostic assessment of San Diego County's manufacturing feedstock generation, current disposal infrastructure condition, and Fully Weighted Disposal Cost structure. This document establishes the factual evidence base for all subsequent documents in the engagement package — it diagnoses, it does not prescribe.

Three things this document says
  1. San Diego County generates approximately 8,767 tons per day of manufacturing feedstock — a county-wide baseline with no WTE processing pathway and one public landfill confirmed closing around 2031.
  2. The only proposed new county landfill — Gregory Canyon — was permanently canceled in 2016 when the Pala Band of Mission Indians acquired the site. No replacement capacity is permitted or in the siting pipeline.
  3. All material streams present in the county are processable by Advanced Circular Manufacturing; the only constraint on addressability is hauler access and contract structure, not ACM processing capability.
§0

Executive Situation

8,767
Tons per day — county-wide total manufacturing feedstock generation
ESTIMATED · CalRecycle CIWMP 2022
~2031
Estimated closure of Miramar Landfill — the county's only municipal disposal facility
VERIFIED · City of SD CalRecycle Permit
$125
Estimated Fully Weighted Disposal Cost per ton — blended county-wide basis
ESTIMATED · Modeled from public data

San Diego County is the largest county in California by area and the second-largest in population, with approximately 3.34 million residents across 18 incorporated cities and extensive unincorporated territory. The county generates approximately 3.2 million tons of solid waste annually — roughly 8,767 tons per day — managed through a combination of municipal and privately operated landfills, transfer stations, and an expanding organics diversion infrastructure.

The county's disposal infrastructure is under compound structural pressure. The only municipally operated landfill, West Miramar Sanitary Landfill operated by the City of San Diego's Environmental Services Department, is confirmed approaching capacity with an estimated closure around 2031. The sole proposed replacement facility — Gregory Canyon Landfill — was permanently canceled in 2016 when the Pala Band of Mission Indians acquired the canyon site. No new permitted disposal capacity is in the development pipeline. The county is therefore approaching a disposal cliff with no conventional infrastructure solution on the horizon.

At the same time, California Senate Bill 1383 is driving accelerating organic waste diversion requirements — reducing organic material available for landfill disposal while creating new processing and infrastructure demands. The absence of any waste-to-energy or resource recovery facility in the county means that all post-diversion residual waste currently flows to landfill, with no thermal or conversion alternative in place.

Executive Implications

  • Miramar's 2031 closure transfers effective control of all county landfill capacity to Republic Services, which currently operates Sycamore, Otay, and Borrego facilities — a structural shift in pricing leverage with no municipal counterbalance.
  • Gregory Canyon's cancellation removes the last planned addition to county disposal capacity. The next siting process — if initiated today — faces a statutory review period measured in years, not months.
  • Fully Weighted Disposal Cost is indexed to CPI annually at Miramar; private landfill rates are contractually determined and rising. At current trajectory, the $125/ton FWDC estimate materially understates the 2031 disposal environment.
San Diego County, California · Manufacturing Feedstock System Overview
§1

Feedstock System Analysis

The constraint is access, not capability. Advanced Circular Manufacturing (ACM) processes all confirmed material streams present in San Diego County. Material addressability is determined exclusively by hauler access, contractual relationships, and logistics — not by any limitation in ACM processing capability.

§1.1 Material Stream Inventory

San Diego County's waste stream is typical of large, diverse metropolitan counties: primarily residential and commercial municipal solid waste, with a significant construction and demolition component reflecting the county's sustained development activity, and an organics stream undergoing rapid restructuring under SB 1383 mandate.

Material Stream Estimated Volume (TPD) Estimated Volume (TPY) Primary Source Access Classification
Residential MSW ~3,945 ~1,440,000 18 cities + unincorporated IMMEDIATE
Commercial MSW ~3,069 ~1,120,000 Commercial / industrial generators IMMEDIATE
Construction & Demolition ~1,051 ~384,000 Active development countywide CONDITIONAL
Organics (SB 1383 transitional) ~702 ~256,000 SB 1383 compliance stream CONDITIONAL
WWTP Biosolids varies varies Metropolitan Sewerage System (16 entities) ACCESSIBLE
Total County Stream ~8,767 ~3,200,000 County-wide

All volume figures ESTIMATED from CalRecycle 2022 Five-Year CIWMP Review (15-year in-county disposal average). Access classifications reflect current contractual and logistical status only — not capability constraints.

§1.2 Access Classification Definitions

Classification Definition Path to Engagement
IMMEDIATE Material currently flowing to local landfills; standard hauler contract modification routes to ACM facility Hauler redirect agreement; no new infrastructure
CONDITIONAL Material currently subject to diversion mandates or specific handling requirements; addressable with defined processing step SB 1383 carve-out or CDI diversion agreement; minor logistics adjustment
ACCESSIBLE Material available via inter-agency or public authority agreement; logistically accessible with standard procurement Public authority agreement; standard permitting

§1.3 SB 1383 Structural Context

California Senate Bill 1383, the Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Act, requires a 75% reduction in organic waste disposal by 2025 from a 2014 baseline. San Diego County adopted a comprehensive SB 1383 compliance program including mandatory organic bin rollout and edible food recovery infrastructure. The City of San Diego reported a 71% diversion rate in 2022, and the green bin organics program commenced in 2023.

The structural consequence for feedstock analysis: the organics fraction within the general MSW stream is declining as a share of landfill-bound material, while a new organics processing infrastructure challenge is emerging. This does not reduce total addressable feedstock — it shifts the stream composition toward residual materials that remain fully within ACM's processing envelope.

Executive Implications — §1

  • The Immediate-access stream alone (residential + commercial MSW, ~7,014 TPD) is approximately 3.5× the Phase Expanded engagement volume of 2,000 TPD — demonstrating that the addressable scale is access-constrained, not capability-constrained.
  • SB 1383 compliance pressure creates a procurement window: jurisdictions actively seeking certified organic waste processing solutions are motivated counterparties for ACM engagement discussions.
§2

Infrastructure and Operations

§2.1 Active Disposal Facilities

Facility Operator Ownership Permitted Capacity Status / Horizon
West Miramar Sanitary Landfill
5180 Convoy St, San Diego
City of San Diego, Environmental Services Dept. Municipal ~2,500 TPD permitted; ~910,000 TPY actual Closing ~2031 Permit revised to extend closure from 2025 → 2031 via compaction/recycling programs. Navy ground lease expires 2045 — landfill closes first.
Sycamore Landfill
8514 Mast Blvd, Santee
Republic Services Private 7,500 TPD (expanded permit); expansion to 9,000 TPD projected Active Largest private facility in county; capacity projected through 2037+
Otay Landfill
Near Chula Vista (Otay Mesa area)
Republic Services / Otay Landfill Inc. Private Active; serves South County Active RWQCB Addendum 5 issued 2023 for Otay Annex; continued active operations
Republic Services Borrego Landfill
Borrego Springs
Republic Services Private Limited; remote location Active Serves desert communities; limited regional relevance for urban feedstock
Ramona Landfill
Ramona, San Diego County
County of San Diego DPW (post-closure) County Not accepting waste Closed Active post-closure maintenance and monitoring. RWQCB Order R9-2026-0003 (2026).

§2.2 Wastewater Treatment Infrastructure

The Metropolitan Sewerage System, operated by the City of San Diego's Wastewater Branch, Public Utilities Department, serves a population of approximately 2.2 million across 16 cities and districts. The system generates approximately 180 million gallons of wastewater per day.

Facility Operator Capacity Location
Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant City of San Diego, Wastewater Branch, Public Utilities Dept. ~175 MGD (primary treatment) Point Loma, San Diego
North City Water Reclamation Plant City of San Diego, Wastewater Branch, Public Utilities Dept. ~30 MGD North City area
South Bay Water Reclamation Plant City of San Diego, Wastewater Branch, Public Utilities Dept. ~15 MGD South Bay
Metropolitan Biosolids Center City of San Diego, Wastewater Branch, Public Utilities Dept. Regional biosolids processing Miramar area

§2.3 Absent Infrastructure — Strategic Context

No WTE or resource recovery facility operates in San Diego County. San Diego is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States without a waste-to-energy or resource recovery facility. All residual waste after diversion flows to landfill. The Gregory Canyon Landfill — the county's only proposed addition to disposal capacity — was permanently canceled in 2016 via land acquisition by the Pala Band of Mission Indians. No successor siting process has been initiated.

Executive Implications — §2

  • Post-Miramar closure, Republic Services will operate all three active private landfills in the county — Sycamore, Otay, and Borrego — creating a single-counterparty dependency for all county disposal needs with no municipal competitive alternative.
  • The Metropolitan Biosolids Center processes biosolids from a 450-square-mile service area; this feedstock stream is separately accessible and represents a high-priority, reliable volume source for distributed ACM deployment.
§3

Current Cost Structure

§3.1 Fully Weighted Disposal Cost

The Fully Weighted Disposal Cost (FWDC) for San Diego County is derived from a composite of verified landfill gate rates, estimated private facility rates, and transport and administrative overhead. The FY2026 Miramar Landfill fee schedule — the most detailed publicly available rate structure in the county — provides the verified anchor for this calculation.

Cost Component Rate Source Type Basis
Miramar gate rate — general refuse, weighed loads (non-city) $102–$108/ton VERIFIED City of San Diego ESD FY2026 Fee Schedule, effective July 1, 2026. Inclusive of AB 939 recycling fee ($15/ton) and RCBT ($8/ton).
Republic Services private gate rate (Otay, Sycamore) ~$100–103/ton ESTIMATED 2023 market rate data (Voice of San Diego). Contract rates not publicly disclosed.
Transport and transfer overhead (county-wide weighted) ~$15–25/ton ESTIMATED County-wide average including outlying jurisdiction haul cost. Varies by subregion.
Administrative and regulatory fees ~$3–5/ton ESTIMATED AB 939 program administration, LEA oversight fees.
Blended County-Wide FWDC (planning basis) $125/ton ESTIMATED Weighted composite. Contracted rate to be confirmed in Joint Working Group phase.

§3.2 Cost Trajectory

Disposal costs in San Diego County are structurally escalating. The Miramar Landfill fee schedule includes automatic annual Consumer Price Index adjustments (Los Angeles/Riverside/Orange County CPI index), applied each July 1. Historical CPI in this index has averaged approximately 3–4% annually over the past five years. At this trajectory, the current $102–108/ton gate rate at Miramar reaches approximately $125–130/ton by the facility's estimated 2031 closure date — at which point the entire remaining disposal burden shifts to Republic Services' private facilities, which set their own contract pricing without municipal regulation.

Executive Implications — §3

  • The $125/ton planning-basis FWDC represents a current-year cost floor. By 2031 — the earliest plausible ACM Phase Initial Commercial Operations Date under a standard schedule — real disposal costs will have increased materially via CPI escalation, at minimum.
  • The transition from dual-operator market (City of SD + Republic) to single-operator market (Republic only) post-2031 removes the municipal competitive alternative that has historically anchored private rates. Forward pricing risk is asymmetric and upward.
§4

Regulatory and Policy Environment

§4.1 Federal Framework

Solid waste management at the county level operates under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which establishes the primary framework for non-hazardous waste management. RCRA Subtitle D governs municipal solid waste landfills. Manufacturing facilities that convert materials through defined chemical and physical processes are classified under EPA's manufacturing sector regulations — a structurally distinct regulatory pathway from waste disposal.

§4.1 California State Framework

California's Integrated Waste Management Act (AB 939) requires all jurisdictions to divert 50% of their waste stream from disposal, with ongoing compliance reporting to CalRecycle. San Diego County meets this standard and has adopted more aggressive targets. SB 1383 (2016) established short-lived climate pollutant reduction targets for organic waste: 50% reduction from 2014 levels by 2020, and 75% reduction by 2025. SB 1383 compliance is the most immediate regulatory driver reshaping the county's feedstock management infrastructure.

§4.3 Local Policy Context

The County of San Diego Board of Supervisors adopted a Strategic Plan to Reduce Waste with an 80% diversion goal. The County updated its Non-Exclusive Franchise Agreement in May 2021, requiring all haulers to comply with SB 1383 organic waste diversion mandates. The City of San Diego's Zero Waste Plan targets 90% diversion by 2035.

These aggressive diversion targets create an important planning context: even at 80–90% diversion, a significant residual volume remains — at current generation rates, 10–20% of the 3.2 million TPY total represents 320,000–640,000 tons of post-diversion residual material annually. That residual stream has no current processing destination except landfill.

§4.4 NAICS Classification Note

Manufacturing facilities that process materials through defined chemical and physical conversion processes are classified under US manufacturing NAICS codes (Sector 31–33). This classification is structurally distinct from solid waste management codes (NAICS Sector 562). The classification applicable to any given facility is determined by its primary production purpose and manufacturing process — a determination made during the permit and regulatory engagement process. This study records the factual material stream available; classification questions are addressed in subsequent engagement documentation.

Executive Implications — §4

  • SB 1383 compliance obligations create a near-term procurement mandate for organic waste processing alternatives. Jurisdictions that cannot demonstrate adequate certified processing capacity face CalRecycle enforcement actions — this is a time-pressured procurement trigger, not a long-cycle planning discussion.
  • The Gregory Canyon cancellation and the absence of any new siting process means the county faces a regulatory compliance problem — CalRecycle requires 15 years of demonstrated disposal capacity — that has no conventional infrastructure solution on the horizon. This is the strategic white space this engagement addresses.
§5

Addressability Assessment

The Phase Expanded engagement — four distributed 500-ton-per-day Advanced Circular Manufacturing facilities across San Diego County subregions — addresses 2,000 TPD of the county's approximately 8,767 TPD total feedstock generation. This represents 23% of the documented material stream.

Stream County Volume (TPD) Addressable Volume (TPD) Access Class Primary Access Path
Residential MSW ~3,945 ~1,100 IMMEDIATE Hauler redirect under franchise amendment
Commercial MSW ~3,069 ~700 IMMEDIATE Direct generator contracts or hauler redirect
C&D Residuals ~1,051 ~150 CONDITIONAL Post-sort residual stream; CDI processing agreement
Organics / SB 1383 ~702 ~50 CONDITIONAL Supplementary to primary diversion; transitional stream
Total Addressable — Phase Expanded ~8,767 2,000 Distributed: 4 × 500 TPD facilities

§5.1 Distributed Deployment Rationale

San Diego County's geography — a 4,526 square mile area stretching from the Pacific coast to the Anza-Borrego desert — creates material logistics costs that are a significant component of the Fully Weighted Disposal Cost. A distributed manufacturing model, with four 500-ton-per-day facilities positioned across the county's primary waste-generating subregions, reduces haul distances, distributes operational risk across multiple sites, and aligns with the county's existing franchise hauler routing infrastructure.

Four subregion clusters represent the primary siting candidates for Phase Expanded deployment: South County (Otay Mesa/Chula Vista industrial zone), East County (Santee/El Cajon industrial corridor), North County (Oceanside/Vista/San Marcos industrial zone), and Central (Kearny Mesa/Miramar industrial district). Each cluster provides proximity to the principal feedstock sources and hauler routes for its subregion.

Executive Implications — §5

  • At 2,000 TPD — 23% of total county feedstock — the engagement leaves 77% of the current stream unaddressed, providing substantial headroom for future engagement scale-up without feedstock competition concerns.
  • The Immediate-access streams alone (residential + commercial MSW, ~7,014 TPD) represent 3.5× the Phase Expanded volume, confirming that feedstock availability is not a constraint to engagement at any of the three configured deployment scales.
§6

Infrastructure Map

Active landfills, wastewater treatment plants, and transfer stations across San Diego County, with Advanced Circular Manufacturing candidate site locations (emerald squares) for the distributed deployment model. Verified operator names as of July 2026.

Infrastructure map requires Google Maps API key.
Set GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY in config.js before deploy.

Active Landfill Closed/Post-closure WWTP Transfer Station ACM Candidate

Map title: San Diego County Feedstock Infrastructure · Insight: No WTE/RRF facility exists in the county — landfill is the sole residual pathway · Sources: City of San Diego ESD; Republic Services; CalRecycle SWIS; RWQCB San Diego Region; metrojpa.org — verified July 2026

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Appendix A

Evidence Chain and Data Lineage

This appendix records the source-type classification for every material claim in this study. The Basis of Presentation (BoP) confidence tiers are: LOCKED (externally binding), VERIFIED (independently confirmed from primary source), ESTIMATED (modeled or derived from confirmed inputs), PROVISIONAL (working assumption, subject to Joint Working Group confirmation).

Claim Source Confidence
County-wide waste generation: ~3.2M TPY / 8,767 TPD CalRecycle 2022 Five-Year CIWMP Review — 15-year in-county disposal average (2005–2020) ESTIMATED
Miramar Landfill disposal rate: $102–108/ton (FY2026) City of San Diego ESD Miramar Landfill & Greenery Processing Fee Schedule, effective July 1, 2026 (direct document review) VERIFIED
Miramar estimated closure: ~2031 CalRecycle Revised Solid Waste Facilities Permit, Public Notice, West Miramar Sanitary Landfill (2020) — updated closure estimate from 2025 to 2031 VERIFIED
Miramar operator: City of San Diego Environmental Services Department sandiego.gov/environmental-services/miramar — confirmed city-operated, July 2026 VERIFIED
Sycamore, Otay, Borrego operator: Republic Services republicservices.com/municipality/san-diego-county-ca; otaylandfill.com; RWQCB Order R9-2023-0095 (naming "Republic Services, Otay Landfill Inc.") VERIFIED
Gregory Canyon Landfill permanently canceled Pala Band of Mission Indians land acquisition, 2016; Waste Dive / Waste360 reporting; NRDC opposition documentation VERIFIED
Ramona Landfill post-closure: RWQCB Order R9-2026-0003 San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board — Land Disposal Program (waterboards.ca.gov/sandiego) — accessed July 2026 VERIFIED
WWTP operator: City of San Diego Wastewater Branch, Public Utilities Department metrojpa.org/facilities/system-map — Metropolitan Sewerage System description VERIFIED
Private landfill rate: ~$100–103/ton Voice of San Diego 2023 market rate reporting (Otay cited at ~$101/ton vs. Miramar at ~$63/ton at that time). Pre-FY2026 reference; current private rates not publicly disclosed. ESTIMATED
FWDC blended: $125/ton Modeled from verified Miramar gate rate + estimated private rates + transport overhead. County-wide contracted FWDC to be confirmed in Joint Working Group. ESTIMATED
Stream composition percentages CalRecycle statewide averages applied to San Diego County profile. County-specific composition study required in Joint Working Group phase. ESTIMATED
Appendix B

Factors That Could Change This Analysis

Miramar closure date revision
The 2031 estimate was revised upward from 2025 by the 2020 CalRecycle permit amendment. A subsequent amendment — triggered by further compaction improvements or recycling-rate increases — could extend or advance the closure date. Either direction has material implications for disposal cost trajectory.
Republic Services capacity expansion decisions
Sycamore Landfill's permitted expansion to 9,000 TPD (and planned 11,000 TPD) remains subject to CalRecycle and RWQCB approval processes. A delay or denial of expansion permits would accelerate the county's capacity crisis. Approval on the projected timeline extends the private disposal runway but does not eliminate the structural pricing monopoly risk post-Miramar.
SB 1383 compliance enforcement trajectory
CalRecycle enforcement of SB 1383 non-compliance penalties (up to $10,000/day for jurisdictions) has been phased. A shift to active enforcement would accelerate organics processing procurement timelines and create near-term contract opportunities.
County waste generation growth
The 15-year average of 3.2M TPY may understate current and forward generation as population grows toward the CalRecycle 2035 projection of 2.9M served by the Metropolitan Sewerage System alone. Higher generation increases feedstock availability and disposal pressure simultaneously.
East Otay Mesa landfill siting process
Historical documents reference a proposed East Otay Mesa landfill in the county permit process. This project's current status is not confirmed; if actively advancing, it could alter the disposal capacity picture.
Appendix C

Sources and References

City of San Diego Environmental Services Department — Miramar Landfill & Greenery Processing Fee Schedule
Effective July 1, 2026. Provides verified FY2026 gate rates for general refuse, C&D debris, food material, and green material streams. Available at sandiego.gov/environmental-services/miramar/fees. Accessed July 2026.
CalRecycle — 2022 Five-Year Review Report of the Countywide Integrated Waste Management Plan
San Diego County. Approved September 2022. Provides 15-year in-county disposal average, landfill capacity projections, and SB 1383 compliance status. Available at sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/dpw/SOLID_WASTE_PLANNING_and_RECYCLING.
San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board — Land Disposal Program
Order No. R9-2026-0003: Waste Discharge Requirements for Closure and Post-Closure Maintenance and Monitoring for Ramona Landfill. Order R9-2023-0095: Monitoring and Reporting Program for Republic Services, Otay Landfill Inc. Accessed at waterboards.ca.gov/sandiego. Verified July 2026.
CalRecycle — Revised Solid Waste Facilities Permit, West Miramar Sanitary Landfill (2020)
Public notice of permit revision including updated closure estimate from 2025 to 2031. Maximum elevation increase to 510 ft MSL.
City of San Diego — Metropolitan Sewerage System / Wastewater Branch
System map and facility descriptions available at metrojpa.org/facilities/system-map and sandiego.gov/public-utilities/water-quality/water-wastewater-facilities. Describes 16-jurisdiction Metropolitan Sewerage System serving approximately 2.2 million people. Verified July 2026.
Republic Services — Sycamore Landfill, Otay Landfill Inc., Borrego Landfill
Operator verification via republicservices.com/municipality/san-diego-county-ca, otaylandfill.com, and CalRecycle SWIS facility records. Verified July 2026.
Pala Band of Mission Indians / Gregory Canyon LLC — Gregory Canyon Landfill Cancellation
Land purchase of ~700 acres by the Pala Band of Mission Indians, 2016. Reported by Waste Dive, Waste360, Voice of San Diego. Confirmed end of 25-year siting process.
California Senate Bill 1383 — Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Act
2016 California statute. Requires 50% reduction in organic waste disposal by 2020, 75% by 2025, from 2014 baseline. Applicable to all California jurisdictions including San Diego County.
Appendix D

Glossary

Advanced Circular Manufacturing (ACM)
Carbotura's platform for the conversion of municipal solid waste and related material streams into manufacturing-grade outputs through defined chemical and physical conversion processes. ACM facilities are classified under US manufacturing NAICS codes (Sector 31–33).
Beneficiation Fee (TMC Fee)
The per-ton fee paid by the public authority counterparty to Carbotura for the receipt and processing of manufacturing feedstock under a Circular Supply Agreement. Also referenced as the Total Material Conversion Fee. Replaces the traditional tipping fee in the CSA structure.
Circular Supply Agreement (CSA)
Carbotura's long-form commercial agreement with a public authority counterparty governing the terms of Advanced Circular Manufacturing deployment, feedstock delivery, Beneficiation Fee structure, and Circular Royalty™ mechanics. Minimum 30-year term with perpetual continuation absent Non-Renewal Notice.
Circular Royalty™
The per-ton royalty payment made by Carbotura to the public authority counterparty, beginning 13 months after the corresponding Beneficiation Fee payment. The Circular Royalty™ is a separate transaction from the Beneficiation Fee and is not netted against it.
CalRecycle
California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. The state agency responsible for solid waste facility permitting, compliance monitoring, and integrated waste management planning.
Fully Weighted Disposal Cost (FWDC)
The all-in, per-ton cost to a public authority for waste disposal, including landfill gate rates, transfer station processing costs, transport and logistics, and administrative and regulatory fees. The planning-basis FWDC for San Diego County is $125/ton (ESTIMATED).
Joint Working Group (JWG)
The bilateral technical and commercial working group established between Carbotura and the public authority counterparty following LOI/MOU execution. The JWG phase confirms all provisional registry assumptions through direct data access and site investigation.
Manufacturing Feedstock
The material streams delivered to an ACM facility for conversion into manufacturing-grade outputs. Replaces the terms "waste" or "trash" in all Carbotura institutional communications. The characterization of material as feedstock reflects the manufacturing identity of the ACM facility.
NAICS
North American Industry Classification System. The federal standard for classifying businesses by primary economic activity. ACM facilities use manufacturing codes (Sector 31–33); solid waste codes (Sector 562) are expressly inapplicable.
RWQCB
Regional Water Quality Control Board. California's regional regulatory authority for water quality, including oversight of landfill waste discharge requirements and post-closure monitoring orders.
SB 1383
California Senate Bill 1383 (2016), the Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Act. Requires a 75% reduction in organic waste disposal by 2025 from a 2014 baseline. The primary regulatory driver reshaping California's waste management infrastructure requirements.
Time-Zero (T0)
The reference date for all deployment timeline calculations, corresponding to the execution of a Letter of Intent or Memorandum of Understanding initiating the Joint Working Group phase. All phase timelines in this study use the Carbotura standard deployment schedule relative to T0.
WTE / RRF
Waste-to-Energy / Resource Recovery Facility. A thermal processing facility that converts municipal solid waste to energy through combustion. San Diego County currently operates no WTE or RRF facility — a notable infrastructure gap relative to comparable metropolitan regions.
Planning Basis: All volume, cost, and impact figures in this study reflect a planning-basis assessment using publicly available data, CalRecycle reporting, and verified operator information as of July 2026. Figures marked ESTIMATED derive from modeled calculations using confirmed inputs; figures marked VERIFIED derive from direct primary-source documentation. Contracted rates, site-specific compositions, and precise hauler volumes are to be confirmed during the Joint Working Group phase following LOI/MOU execution.
Basis of Presentation
Confidence TierDefinitionApplication in this document
LOCKEDContractually fixed or Architect-directed — cannot change without CSA amendment or explicit overrideBeneficiation Fee base rate $100/ton; royalty formula (Release 28 canonical); 30-year CSA minimum term
VERIFIEDIndependently confirmed from primary source documentationMiramar gate rate $102–108/ton (City of SD ESD FY2026 fee schedule); operator names (CalRecycle SWIS + RWQCB orders); Ramona post-closure order R9-2026-0003; Gregory Canyon cancellation
ESTIMATEDModeled or derived from confirmed inputs; derivation disclosedTotal feedstock ~8,767 TPD (CalRecycle CIWMP 2022 15-yr avg); FWDC $125/ton (modeled from verified gate rates + transport overhead); stream composition percentages
PROVISIONALWorking assumption; subject to Joint Working Group (Term Sheet phase) confirmationACM candidate sites P1–P4 (zone clusters, not specific parcels); addressable feedstock split by stream; T0 timing

Registry-sourced values only. Contracted FWDC, site-specific stream compositions, and precise parcel selections confirmed during the Term Sheet phase following LOI/MOU execution.