A key component of a new California law that will forever change how residents and businesses sort their food scraps and landscaping trimmings took effect Jan. 1 and, so far, Orange County cities are in various stages of rolling out their respective programs. Some are already in full compliance with the new law, which is mandatory by 2025, while others are rolling out their respective programs more slowly, due, in part, some say, to COVID-19 issues as well as supply chain shortages. Almost all cities, however, have either raised rates in response to the new mandate—or expect to in the near future. At issue is the mandatory organic waste collection and recycling program, part of a California law passed in 2017, that officials hope will preserve landfill capacity and reduce methane emissions that result when organic waste decomposes in landfills. What the law means for residents and business owners is …