{"id":20764,"date":"2021-07-23T16:45:10","date_gmt":"2021-07-23T20:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ilsr.org\/?post_type=article&p=20764"},"modified":"2024-06-24T16:46:42","modified_gmt":"2024-06-24T20:46:42","slug":"massachusetts-on-farm-composting-rules","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/ilsr.org\/es\/article\/composting-for-community\/massachusetts-on-farm-composting-rules","title":{"rendered":"Massachusetts \u2013 On-Farm Composting Rules"},"template":"","class_list":["post-20764","article","type-article","status-publish","hentry","article_type-state-policy","initiatives-composting-for-community","topics-permitting","topics-zero-waste","impact_areas-climate-and-environmental-justice","impact_areas-food-security","authors-brenda-platt"],"acf":{"details":{"featured_image":"","background_color":"tan","article_type":[36],"initiative":15,"display_event_fields":false,"start_date":null,"end_date":null,"start_time":null,"end_time":null,"time_zone":"America\/New_York","virtual_event":false,"location":"","topics":[101,121],"impact_areas":[16,18],"abstract":"Massachusetts allows certain types of composting operations to be conditionally exempt from the requirement to obtain a permit as long as specific performance standards are met. These operations include leaf composters who have less than 10,000 tons on-site at one time. Many other types of on-farm composting, including up to 20 cubic yards per day of vegetative scraps or 5 tons per day of food material, are permitted if a registration is submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture and performance standards are met.\u2026","authors_tax":[601]},"sidebar":{"title":"\u00cdndice"},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"Massachusetts modified its composting rules in 2012 to \u201cbetter accommodate the siting of anaerobic digesters and other new technologies.\u201d Revisions to the state\u2019s laws on assigning sites for waste processing facilities (<\/span>310 CMR 16.00<\/b><\/a>) aimed to increase organic waste diversion into <\/span>small-scale composting<\/b><\/a> projects while simultaneously increasing the amount of <\/span>renewable energy<\/b><\/a> produced from anaerobic digestion. Another related development in the Massachusetts waste laws during the early 2010s was a state-wide <\/span>ban on commercial and institutional food waste<\/b><\/a> from entering landfills and incinerators, which took effect in 2014.<\/span>\r\n

General Composting Permits<\/b><\/h3>\r\nUnder 310 CMR 16.04, Massachusetts allows certain types of composting operations to function under a general permit and thus to be conditionally exempt from obtaining a site permit. Specific performance standards must be met, and exempt operations include leaf and yard waste composters who have less than 10,000 tons on-site at one time (5,000 maximum per acre), so long as the material is composed of less than 25% grass clippings. Such facilities must also either register with the Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), or generate all their leaf\/yard debris on-site.<\/span>\r\n\r\nIn addition, <\/span>on-farm composting<\/b><\/a> is also permissible under a general rather than site permit, provided the farm\u2019s setup meets performance standards. General permits are available for those composting up to 20 cubic yards per week of vegetative materials, food scraps, and animal manure generated on-site, and then combining with bulking materials (either generated on- or off-site). Allowing agricultural composters to accept materials from off-site generators of waste under Massachusetts regulations (<\/span>330 CMR 25.00<\/b><\/a>) further lowers barriers to obtaining a steady supply of compost feedstock.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThose wishing to compost on-farm need only submit a registration application and comply with the policies outlined by the Department of Agricultural Resources. The Department considers applications based on the location of the composting operation, the operator\u2019s willingness to allow site visits, and the operator\u2019s knowledge of composting practices. If the Department approves the application, a compost operation may accept:<\/span>\r\n