What's happening
This bill requires state and municipal food service establishments in New York to reduce, donate, and recycle food waste, and allows local governments to enforce stricter rules.
Why it matters
Mandates a tiered approach to food waste. The bill requires government-operated and affiliated food service establishments to first reduce food waste at the source, then prioritize donating excess edible food to people in need, followed by using food scraps as animal feed, and finally composting or recycling remaining organic waste. This structured hierarchy helps maximize social and environmental benefit.
Expands responsibility and reporting. Covered establishments—including contractors and facilities like school cafeterias—may be required to track and report how they manage excess food and organic waste. This data can support better planning, resource allocation, and accountability, potentially influencing practices beyond government-run facilities.
Provides flexibility and waivers. Establishments can apply for temporary waivers from recycling mandates if the cost of compliance exceeds 15% of their landfill or incineration disposal costs. This clause recognizes the financial challenges some sites may face, while still pushing for overall progress in waste diversion.
Empowers local governments to go further. Municipalities and agencies are explicitly authorized to set stricter or more comprehensive food waste management rules. This allows for innovative local solutions and ensures that ambitious communities aren’t constrained by state minimums, potentially leading to faster or broader adoption of best practices.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Cut Government Food Waste
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
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History
- Referred to environmental conservation
- Referred to environmental conservation
Full text
4 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
107
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 4, 2017
Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN, PERKINS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Environmental Conservation
AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to prevention and diversion of food waste
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "state and local government food waste prevention and diversion act".
§ 2. Article 27 of the environmental conservation law is amended by adding a new title 28 to read as follows:
TITLE 28
STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOOD WASTE PREVENTION AND DIVERSION
ACT Section 27-2801. Definitions.
27-2803. Required state and municipal food service organics
waste management.
27-2805. Powers of municipalities. § 27-2801. Definitions.
For the purposes of this title, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
1. "Agency" means any state department, agency, board, public benefit corporation, public authority, or commission.
2. "Compostable" means all the materials in the product or package will (a) undergo degradation by biological processes during composting to yield carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds, and biomass at a rate consistent with other known compostable materials and (b) leave no visible, distinguishable or toxic residue, including no adverse impact
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02942-01-7
S. 107 2
on the ability of composts to support plant growth once the finished compost is placed in soil.
3. "Contractors" and "lessees" mean any person or entity that has a contract with an agency, municipality or local education agency for public works or improvements to be performed, for a franchise, concession or lease of property, for grant monies or goods and services or supplies to be purchased at the expense of the agency, municipality or local education agency or to be paid out of monies deposited in the treasury or out of trust monies under the control or collected by the agency, municipality or local education agency.
4. "Covered food service establishment" means any premises or part of a premises to which all of the following apply:
(a) it is operated by an agency, municipality, local education agency, or any contractor or lessee of an agency, municipality, or local education agency;
(b) it generates, from its food preparation and service, as averaged over the course of the previous ten weeks:
(i) in two thousand seventeen and two thousand eighteen, over two thousand pounds of food waste per week;
(ii) in two thousand nineteen and two thousand twenty, over one thousand pounds of food waste per week; and
(iii) in two thousand twenty-one and thereafter, over five hundred pounds of food waste per week; and
(c) it is located where food is prepared and provided directly to the consumer, whether such food is provided free of charge or sold, and whether consumption occurs on or off the premises. "Covered food service establishments" shall include, but not be limited to, the following which also meet the conditions of paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this subdivision: full-service restaurants, fast food restaurants, cafes, delicatessens, coffee shops, and cafeterias, but shall not include retail food stores, convenience stores, pharmacies and mobile food vending units.
5. "Excess food" means food that is not required to meet the needs of the covered food service establishment.
6. "Local education agency" means a school district, board of cooperative educational services, community college, agricultural and technical college, state university of New York college of technology and a center for advanced technology designated pursuant to section three thousand one hundred two-a of the public authorities law, and other postsecondary provider of career education as set forth annually by the commissioner as eligible recipients under the federal vocational education act of nineteen hundred eighty-four.
7. "Municipality" means a village, town, city, or county, or any designated agency thereof.
8. "Organic" means materials produced by or from living organisms.
9. "Organic waste" means readily degradable organic material including, but not limited to, food waste, soiled or unrecyclable paper, and yard waste in combination with any of the former materials. It does not include biosolids, sludge, or septage. § 27-2803. Required state and municipal food service organics waste
management.
1. Any covered food service establishment shall do the following:
(a) To the greatest extent practicable, minimize its generation of excess, unused foods in addition to food scraps and organic waste including, but not limited to, food trimmings and packaging;
S. 107 3
(b) To the greatest extent practicable, reduce the need for disposal of its generated excess, unused food, food scraps and any other compostable or organic waste, by providing it for the following purposes, in descending order of priority:
(i) feeding or distributing excess, unused, apparently wholesome food to people, such as the food insecure, through local voluntary community not-for-profit food assistance or similar programs as authorized by state and federal law;
(ii) feeding excess, unused food, or food scraps to animals as feed as authorized by state and federal law;
(iii) composting, anaerobic digestion, or other processing of food, food waste, or organic waste to generate soil amendment or other products for use in agricultural, horticultural, manufacturing, or other applications;
(c) Effectuate paragraph (b) of this subdivision by doing the following:
(i) for management of excess foods or food scrap pursuant to subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph (b) of this subdivision, other than those managed on-site, transfer, or arrange for such transfer, to locations intended for their consumption or from which they will be distributed for ultimate consumption; and
(ii) for management of organic wastes pursuant to subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (b) of this subdivision, by taking actions to (A) source separate organic wastes from other waste and subscribe to a basic level of recycling service that includes their collection and recycling; (B) recycle its organic wastes on-site or self-haul them for recycling; or (C) subscribe to an organic waste recycling service that may include mixed waste processing that specifically recycles organic waste.
(d) Provide collection and educational resources, including regular periodical guidance, training, updates, signage, and flyers, for its workforce and the public for the purposes of teaching and retaining effective procedures for sorting materials for organics and other recycling.
2. Each covered food service establishment may provide to its municipality, planning unit, or the department, information on its practices, including amounts of excess food, food scraps, or organic waste managed by various methods such as those implemented pursuant to subdivision one of this section, entities or resources utilized for reducing and managing such materials, or financing mechanisms and incentives utilized.
3. Waivers. If the cost for a covered food service establishment to comply with the requirements of paragraph (c) of subdivision one of this section for any or all portions of excess food, food scraps, or organic waste exceeds fifteen percent of the cost of its disposal by landfill or incineration, the covered food service establishment may request from the commissioner a waiver of the requirements for the portions, based on documented efforts to comply. The commissioner shall review the request and, if validated, grant the waiver for a period of no greater than twenty-four months.
4. The provisions of this section shall not apply to contracts in effect on the effective date of this section; provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall apply to all renewals or extensions of such contracts entered into on or after the effective date of this section.
5. In the event that two or more covered food service establishments share a common physical facility and share services such as waste/recycling collection and hauling, dining areas and/or restrooms,
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all facilities shall be considered to be one covered food service establishment for the purpose of calculating the amount of food waste as provided in subdivision four of section 27-2801 of this title.
6. The department shall promote actions for covered food service establishments to take pursuant to the requirements of subdivision one of this section, and for all entities and the public to take in efforts to manage excess food, food scraps, and organic waste in a similar manner.
7. The department may collect and report information to promote improved management of excess food, food scraps and organic waste, including information on practices by covered food establishments, other entities and the public, or lists of entities and resources providing assistance for reducing such materials, facilities accepting such materials, or financing mechanisms and incentives available for recovery practices and facilities. § 27-2805. Powers of municipalities.
Any agency, municipality or local education agency may promulgate regulations, ordinances, or laws to take any and all reasonable actions necessary to implement and enforce this title. This title does not limit the authority of a local governmental agency to adopt, implement, or, enforce requirements on management of excess food, food scraps, and organic waste that are more stringent or comprehensive than the requirements of this title.
§ 3. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section 27-0107 of the environmental conservation law, as added by chapter 70 of the laws of 1988, is amended to read as follows:
(c) Such plan shall take into account the objectives of the state solid waste management policy, provide for or take into account management of all solid waste within the planning unit, and embody, as may be appropriate to the circumstances, sound principles of solid waste management, natural resources conservation, energy production, and employment creating opportunities, including but not limited to:
(i) description of efforts of the planning unit, or any of the municipalities therein, to facilitate, participate, or assist in the management of excess food, food scraps, and other organic waste in the solid waste stream including, but not limited to, description of programs providing (A) assistance with reducing the amount of excess food, food scraps, and organic waste generated, (B) excess food to entities for feeding the food insecure, (C) excess food and food scraps for feeding animals, and (D) food and other organic waste to process and generate soil amendment or other products for use in agricultural, horticultural, manufacturing, or other applications; and
(ii) assessment and description of (A) known entities accepting excess food donations for the purpose of providing nourishment to the food insecure and estimated amounts, according to any useful categories, such as perishable and non-perishable, that are available, (B) known entities that accept excess food and food scraps for feeding animals, and estimated amounts, according to available useful categories, and (C) known entities that accept food and other organic waste to process and generate soil amendment or other products, and estimated amounts, according to available useful categories.
§ 4. This act shall take effect on the first of the month following the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the environmental conservation law, in relation to prevention and diversion of food waste
Purpose
To require that food service facilities operated by State agencies, municipalities, local education agencies, or their contractors or lessees prevent and divert food waste by participating in food donation and other organics recovery programs.
Summary of provisions
Section one of the bill establishes the short title of "State and Local Government Food Waste Prevention and Diversion Act."
Read the full memo (972 words)
Section two of the bill amends article 27 of the environmental conservation law by adding a new title 28 which would require that covered food service establishments manage their excess unused food, food scraps, and organic waste by first minimizing their generation, and then diverting them from disposal by a series of options. After minimizing generation, the highest waste prevention and diversion priority would be donation of excess wholesome food to programs feeding people, especially the food insecure. Other options include providing food and food scraps as animal feed, and processing remaining organics into soil amendment or other useful products through composting, anaerobic digestion, and other value-adding methods.
Covered food service establishments would be those operated by State agencies, departments, boards, public benefit corporations, public authorities, or commissions, municipalities, local education agencies, or their contractors or lessees, that prepare and provide food directly to consumers, and that generate, from food preparation and service as averaged over the course of the previous ten weeks: beginning in 2016, over two thousand pounds of food waste per week; beginning in 2018, over one thousand pounds of food waste per week; and beginning in 2020, over five hundred pounds of food waste per week.
If the cost to comply with any portion of the food waste prevention and diversion priorities outlined above is excessive, this section also provides a process by which a covered food service establishment may be granted a temporary waiver from complying with that portion.
Additionally, section two of the bill requires the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to promote the actions that covered food service establishments are required to take, and to encourage the public to better manage excess food, food scraps, and organic waste as well. Toward this end, the DEC is authorized to collect and report information to promote improved food and organic waste prevention and diversion.
Section three of the bill requires that local solid waste management plans include information on current food and organic waste management efforts and their capacity in the respective area of the planning unit.
Section four of the bill establishes the effective date.
Justification
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, food waste comprises approximately 14 percent of the municipal solid waste generated each year in the United States, or about 34 million tons. A 2005 University of Arizona study found that about 20 million tons of that was generated at full service and fast-food restaurants.
Every day, food service providers such as hospitals, universities, cafeterias, restaurants, and food preparation companies must address what to do with surplus or leftover food and other organic waste generated in their operations. This includes food waste, food scraps, prepared foods, produce, bakery and dairy items, meat, and other organics. There are many ways food service providers can reduce waste, reduce costs, improve the environment, provide benefits to communities, and otherwise realize savings by reducing, reusing, and recycling uneaten or unused food and other discarded organic materials rather than sending them to landfills.
New York State's Solid Waste Management Plan, entitled "Beyond Waste" published in December 2010, included a programmatic recommendation for the state to "lead by example" by demonstrating sustainable materials management within its own operations, specifically indicating organics recovery as a major component. This bill would require that certain facilities operated by state agencies, counties, municipalities, local education agencies, or their contractors recover excess foods and other organics residuals to the greatest extent practicable. In doing so, covered facilities would prevent waste and divert discarded organics from landfills, thereby conserving resources and providing models for other facilities and organizations to establish their own effective means of sustainable operation and organic waste management.
In addition to reducing as much as possible the amount of food waste generated, covered food service establishments will be required to divert organic materials from disposal in descending order of priority, in line with the EPA's Food Recovery Hierarchy: donation to programs feeding people, especially the food insecure; providing food and food scraps as animal feed; and finally, processing remaining organic materials into useful value-added products for industry, agriculture, horticulture, or other beneficial applications (e.g. biodiesel, biogas, soaps, composts or other soil amendments).
Anyone donating food pursuant to this law would be protected from liability under the agricultural and markets law, which exempts a good faith donor of food from liability if the donor has reasonably inspected the food and found it fit for consumption.
Apart from environmental and resource conservation benefits, food waste prevention and organic waste diversion practices also promote the development of sustainable jobs. Requiring diversion of organic waste from landfills by the largest government generators of food waste, and their contractors and lessees, and requiring promotion and further reporting of food and organic waste management by government actors will help improve such practices and spur much needed infrastructure development across the state.
Prior legislative history
S.7323 of 2016 (Hoylman): Died in Environmental Conservation
Fiscal impact on the state
Facilities recovering organics may experience a slight cost in first establishing programs with likely short-term return on investment and long-term savings (primarily through reduced procurement and disposal costs) as food preparation, sorting, and collection gain in efficiency.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first of the month following the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.