DoomsdaysCWMaine Senate passes food scraps disposal ban
The measure would require commercial and industrial-scale food waste producers to donate their edible leftovers and recycle what remains.
by Penny Overton, March 6, 2024
"The Maine Senate voted 20-12 in favor of the #FoodScraps disposal ban on Tuesday, moving the state one step closer to becoming the final New England state to require commercial and industrial-scale food waste producers to donate their edible leftovers and recycle what remains.
"'This bill will divert food waste from landfills within the state of Maine,' said Sen. Stacy Brenner, D-Scarborough, the Senate chair of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee that worked the bill. 'Currently 40% of municipal waste in the state is food waste.'
The House approved L.D. 1009, a bill introduced by Rep. Stanley Zeigler, D-Montville, 75-64 last month.
"Although approved by both chambers, the bill has not yet been funded. It would require about $550,000 to $600,000 a year to pay the staff needed to regulate and monitor a food waste disposal program. It is up to the appropriations committee to decide whether to fund the bill."
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"The bill would gradually ban the landfilling or burning of food waste. It would require commercial and industrial producers to donate edible leftovers to food rescue groups, such as food banks, transfer them to farmers for use as animal feed or fertilizer, or take them to an organics recycler.
"The ban would be implemented in 2026 and initially apply only to waste producers making at least 2 tons of waste a week located within 25 miles of an organics recycler. Eventually, in 2028, the ban would expand to include 1-ton producers within 25 miles of an organics recycler."
Read more:
https://www.centralmaine.com/2024/03/06/maine-senate-passes-food-scraps-disposal-ban/
#Maine #FoodScrapBan #FoodWaste #FoodInsecurity #FoodBanks #Methane #MethanePollution #ClimateChange #Composting
