This year, a new study in the journal Science found that of all states in the country that had passed legislation targeting food waste diversion, Massachusetts was the state that made the most progress in actually reducing its food waste. Why? The study pointed to one thing that set them apart: their robust network of food waste diversion infrastructure.
In Maryland, we've passed legislation to divert organic waste from landfills and incinerators, but the state government must do more to actually build composting infrastructure. To fix the problem, Delegate Boyce and Senator Hester are introducing a bill that would assess a $2 per ton surcharge on trash thrown away at landfills and incinerators to fund grants to build the infrastructure we need to stop sending food to rot in our landfills, where it becomes planet warming greenhouse gases and fills our landfills up faster than necessary.
This program would fund things like getting farmers to build compost piles and substitute compost for conventional fertilizers, helping fund local collection, and building a more robust food donation system in the state to rescue food and get it into the bellies of hungry people.
The bill creates a dedicated funding stream for these activities, paralleling similar waste surcharges in other states like Pennsylvania.
Take action now to ask your state representatives to support these bills when Maryland a legislative session begins on January 8th!