Environment Rule

In 2009, Maine adopted significant changes to its compost facility rules in an effort to advance the practice of composting. The revision of Maine’s composting rules was mandated by Chapter 139 of the 2007 Legislative Resolves, which directed the Departments of Agriculture and Environmental Protection to collaborate to 1) ease the regulatory burden on agricultural composting operations and 2) revise the volume and types of materials that may be composted without a permit from the state. … Read More

Denver is one of several communities to mandate the use of compost in disturbed soil and new landscaping as a means of improving the ability of soil to conserve and manage water. As water stress and pressures have become increasing concerns in western US states, simple, cost-effective solutions such as requiring a minimum amount of organic matter to … Read More

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency’s data on municipal solid waste generation and management, an estimated 52.4 percent of yard trimmings were “grasscycled” or composted in 2018, while only 6.1 percent of food scraps were composted. Policies that ban food scraps from landfills can have a tremendous and immediate effect on diverting organics from the … Read More

In addition to implementing yard waste reduction strategies, such as grasscycling, some jurisdictions have banned yard trimmings from landfills. Where such bans exist, public waste management authorities often provide residents the option of curbside collection if the yard debris is “source-separated” from other waste or public drop-off locations. Landfill bans, coupled with publicly provided alternatives and … Read More

Government agencies, business, and institutions are developing environmental procurement guidelines and policies that require the purchase of compost to enhance their construction and/or landscaping operations. In addition, more and more of these entities are specifying that the compost be purchased locally, which minimizes transportation impacts, creates demand in the local market for a sustainable compost product, … Read More

Incorporating compost into soils that are disturbed or damaged by human development (such as typical construction practices) has many benefits for the overall health of the soil ecosystem including: improved water retention, increased infiltration rates, greater binding ability, pH stabilization, and micronutrient enrichment. These micro-level soil benefits in turn, lead to significant community benefits on a … Read More

Performance-based compost regulations describe standards to be met without imposing restrictions on the exact way to meet those standards. Several states in the Pacific Northwest (such as Washington and Oregon), as well as Ohio in the Midwest have implemented performance-based standards, thereby acknowledging that no one regulatory model is best for every facility. These rules foster … Read More

New York City generates 1.8 million tons of commercial and residential organic waste, 95% of which ends up in landfills or incinerators both in and outside of New York state lines. In December 2013, NYC passed its Commercial Organic Waste law (Local Law 146), which took effect July 1, 2015. This law mandates specific large-scale generators to arrange for the recycling of their organic materials or employ department-approved methods to process the material themselves. The City has recently recommitted to organics recycling and is making efforts to expand curbside composting as part of its zero waste plans.… Read More