Inflation and the economic crisis from the pandemic have led hundreds of families to face food insecurity in New York and across the nation, as large companies continue to dispose of tons of healthy food.
About 40 percent of the food produced in the United States ends up in the trash, while some 2.8 million New Yorkers are food insecure, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
In addition to the socio-economic and humanitarian implications, excessive food waste also poses a serious environmental problem. That is why the state will implement a new law whose main objective is that companies and institutions reduce the waste of groceries in local landfills, where its decomposition produces methane, a greenhouse gas.
Fruits and vegetables in good condition but not sold will need to be composted or donated by large companies, under a new state law aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from food waste. The guideline goes into effect on January 1, 2022.
“Americans currently waste about a quarter of all purchased food, which leads directly to the creation of methane and other greenhouse gases and negative environmental impacts,” said Basil Seggos, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, in a statement. of the State of New York. “That wasted food can now be used to help people in need instead of contributing to climate change,” he added.
The New York State Food Waste Recycling Act, passed in 2019, requires all businesses to donate excess edible food and send the waste to an organic recycler, if one is available within a 25-mile radius. . The law also requires composting through the use of organic recyclers to reduce the amount of waste in landfills.
The law will be fully implemented as of January 1, 2022, although companies can apply to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) for a one-year waiver in order to establish a recycling and donation plan, at especially if they do not have a service that transports the waste.
The law would apply to restaurants, supermarkets, hotels and motels, colleges and universities, shopping centers, event centers and other large companies that dispose of excess food. The measure includes hospitals, nursing homes, adult care centers, farms and K-12 schools.
But Ulster County, in the Hudson Valley, went further than state law by passing its own local legislation in 2019 called the “Food Waste Prevention and Recovery Act,” which will require large businesses that waste food to separate products in good condition for donation as animal feed or compost.
The county will even tighten the requirements: the average of two tons per week will become a low of just half a ton per week by July 1, 2023.
Area colleges such as Bard College, SUNY New Paltz, and Vassar are now composting leftover food to comply with Ulster County law.
Vassar, for example, sends an average of 150 tons of food scraps a year to a composter for reuse as fertilizer. Bard, like Mohonk Mountain House, has a registered compost pile on site that diverts 1,500 pounds of food scraps a day from the landfill.
When it comes to donating edible food, most institutions and businesses have systems in place for that, too. SUNY New Paltz works with FeedHV, which serves a network of 28 food recovery organizations.
Food Bank of the Hudson Valley also accepts food donations, which they then distribute to 400 member agencies, including food pantries, homeless shelters and schools. However, the organization itself will also have to comply with the new law when it comes to donated food that they cannot redistribute.
The organization has been composting for the past few years and collaborates with local pig farmers who use the compost to create a sustainable operation.
DEC will publish a list of the companies that dispose of the most food before June 1, 2022. Each year in the future, a revised list will be published in June for the following year. Businesses and institutions designated as large generators of food waste will be required to provide an annual report form that accounts for the excess food they receive.
DEC stated that wasted food has significant environmental, social and economic impacts. The Climate Action Council’s Waste Panel lists the removal of organic waste from landfills as a key recommendation to achieve the goals of the New York Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. This aims to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make New York carbon neutral by 2050.
The final regulations can be found on the DEC website.
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