Composting, particularly when done at the local level, provides a host of proven environmental, economic, and social benefits. Beyond diverting wasted food from landfills and incinerators, composting combats climate change, rebuilds soils, creates green jobs, and more. Governments and advocates seeking to facilitate the rapid expansion of composting have a multitude of policy tools at their disposal. Developing clear facility permitting pathways and updating zoning rules can reduce barriers to entry for community composting. The inclusion of composting in healthy soils policies can also be effective. From simple home composting incentives to compost procurement policies, from funding via waste surcharges to universal recycling requirements, policies that support local composting take all shapes and sizes.
Below you’ll find existing model composting policies at the local, state, and federal levels, along with policymaking tools and resources within the topics.
ILSR’s Composting for Community map reflects some of the state and local policies featured in this Policy Library.
State & Local Policy
Organics Diversion and Recovery
Zoning and Permitting
- Zonificación para el compostaje a escala comunitaria
- Performance-Based Composting Permit Regulations
- Normas sobre compostaje en granjas y exenciones de permisos
Infrastructure, Funding, and Capacity
- Recargos por residuos para financiar el compostaje y otras iniciativas
- Policy Tools for Capacity Building
Soil Health
- Requisitos del suelo enriquecido con compost
- Políticas sobre salud del suelo y secuestro de carbono
- Normas sobre compostaje en granjas y exenciones de permisos
End Markets for Compost
Additional State & Local Policy Resources
- Model Ordinance on Mandatory Reporting for Large Food Waste Generators (by Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Law Institute)
- Model Executive Order on Municipal Leadership on Food Waste Reduction (by Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Law Institute)
- Achieving Zero Food Waste – State Policy Toolkit (ZFW Coalition)
- Model Ordinance Establishing a Pay-As-You-Throw Program for Residential Municipal Solid Waste (by Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Law Institute)
Federal Policy
- Proposed Federal Compost Act to Create $2 Billion in Funding over 10 Year
- Recommendations to Improve EPA’s Waste Reduction Model (WARM)
- Webinar: Healthy Soils and Compost in Policy: Synergies and Opportunities
- Check out the presentation by Ayesha Ali (Kiss the Ground) featuring federal healthy soil policies.
- Federal Recycling and Composting Accountability Act
- USDA NRCS Soil Carbon Amendment Code 336