New York Businesses Gear Up For Tighter Food Donation and Food Recycling MandatesNew York Businesses Gear Up For Tighter Food Donation and Food Recycling Mandates

New York State recently pushed past a major milestone: 32 million pounds of food diverted from landfill since implementing  a  Food Donation and Food Scraps Recycling law in January 2022. The law requires certain businesses and institutions to donate surplus edible food. What isn’t fit for human consumption is sent for compost or to be converted to renewable energy via anaerobic digestion.

But policymakers say that too much of what should be recovered is still slipping through the cracks, making its way to landfills or incinerators. So, they have tightened the reins.

In its earliest days, the law required generators of two tons per week to donate good, edible food. And they had to recycle their scraps if they were within 25 miles of an organics processing facility.

But beginning in 2028 businesses producing just half a ton a week of surplus food or waste food will be expected to comply. And it won’t be so easy to opt out of recycling if there’s no nearby processor. They will have to ship organics they can’t donate to a compost or anaerobic digestion site if there’s one within 50 miles of their business.

Phasing in the new provisions (S.5331-A/A.5906-A) over three years will give grocers, food manufacturers, universities, and others time to carve out their plans. And it will give organics recyclers and food recovery organizations time to build out infrastructure.

The higher expectations should drive up food donations and food scrap recycling by nearly 500,000 tons per year according to nonprofit Earthjustice. Looking from another perspective, when S.5331-A/A.5906-A is in full swing, 99 percent of large food scrap generators outside of New York City will be bound to the law’s provisions, which will be a huge leap. And food recycling will climb by 42 percent.

Already, nonprofit Feeding New York State, an association of New York’s 10 Feeding America member food banks, is receiving an average of two million pounds of food donations each month. That’s up from 50,000 to 60,000 pounds per month when the program launched in October 2022 on the heels of the food donation and recycling law.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has been reporting on obligated generators’ progress, with its most recent findings capturing the first year of the law in play. The agency looked at how 634 generators (of the 874 required to comply) did. What it found was that food donations increased by 60 percent from 2021 to 2022—from 12,603 tons to 20,147 tons. And food scraps increased by 529 percent—from 42,357 tons to 266,468 tons.

All total, 1,198 businesses and institutions were required to comply. All of them were obligated to donate excess edible food, while 37 percent had to recycle their food scraps.

With funding from DEC, Feeding New York State is helping businesses navigate the new rules around donation and to forge partnerships with organizations who receive and distribute the food.

Insufficient transportation has been a barrier. So the state put up more funding for trucks, refrigerated vehicles, and equipment to get food to more of the 2.5 million New Yorkers who are food insecure.

DEC has also collaborated with the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) to support businesses, municipalities, and community organizations in a few ways—for example funding student projects exploring packaging innovations to minimize spoilage; a guide walking businesses through identifying causes of bin contamination; and other tools.

Municipalities have been able to tap into organics management grants for food scrap recovery programs to cover costs from staffing to vehicles, outreach, construction of new facilities and expansion of existing ones, to demonstration or pilot projects.

DEC has also partnered with The Center for EcoTechnology (CET), who stepped up to launch Rethink Food Waste New York with offerings for generators such as a hotline, virtual and on-site assistance, and compost workshops.

Heralding the law’s add-on conditions, DEC Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar said, “New York’s food donation and food scraps recycling law has been an outstanding success in our efforts to feed hungry New York families and reduce greenhouse gases created by landfilling wasted food. Expansion of the law will accelerate the program’s growth to bring more food to New Yorkers in need while strengthening our work to implement the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.”

Bill sponsor State Senator Peter Harckham said, “So many people in communities statewide still face food insecurity, which is why we cannot let up our fight against hunger. The success of the food donation law has been truly remarkable, and by expanding this law we address sustainability and climate accountability, as well as the need to lessen waste in our landfills. I appreciate the partnership of Assembly member Shimsky on this legislation, and thank Governor Hochul for signing it into law. Most of all, I thank the many volunteers who are fighting hunger in New York.”