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...
Vermont has aggressively embarked on a first-of-its-kind, statewide parallel collection program of all mandated recyclable materials, including yard debris and food residuals. By taking a...
In June 2014, Rhode Island’s state legislature amended its Refuse Disposal laws, passing a food waste ban to take effect on January 1, 2016. This...
The right to engage in composting is often prohibited or highly restricted for those living within homeowners’ associations (HOAs) or condominiums. Maryland House Bill 248,...
Connecticut became the first state to mandate food scraps generated by large-scale generators be recycled when it passed Public Act 11-217 in 2011. The law...
Also known as the Mandatory Commercial Organics Recycling (MORe) program, AB 1826 requires commercial generators of organic waste to have their food waste, landscape and...
Soils for Salmon is an initiative established to promote guidelines, best management practices (BMPs), and policy change in an effort to preserve the overall environmental...
By requiring the use of compost in construction and landscape projects, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is becoming a model for public...
Massachusetts modified its composting rules in 2012 to “better accommodate the siting of anaerobic digesters and other new technologies.” Revisions to the state’s laws on...
Pennsylvania, like many other states, has regulations that prohibit yard trimmings in landfills. The state has prohibited yard trimmings in landfills since 1990. However, because the...
Minnesota passed a law in 2009 that mandated all yard trimmings generated in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area could not be collected in plastic bags...
In April 2021, the Maryland Legislature passed House Bill 264, “Solid Waste Management – Organics Recycling and Waste Diversion – Food Residuals.” The bill’s goal...
Pennsylvania is a pioneer in using State-imposed surcharges on top of existing tipping fees to fund state and municipal recycling and local land conservation programs....
Iowa banned the landfill disposal of yard waste in 1991, and instituted regulations to broadly encourage composting, including on-farm, small-scale food scrap composting. The state’s rules...
Since 1997, it has been “unlawful to deposit yard waste, including grass clippings and leaves, in a solid waste facility in West Virginia.” This government...