New York State was recently applauded for their composting regulations for creating a friendly regulatory environment for composting facilities to transition to composting food scraps and not just yard trimmings, as well as creating a friendly environment for small-scale food scraps operations. To better understand the viability of retrofitting existing composting infrastructure, the Composting Consortium worked with Coker Composting & Consulting and BioCycle Connect, LLC to conduct an evaluation of state composting regulations that help or hinder the use of existing yard trimmings composting infrastructure to process food waste and food-contact compostable packaging.
New York State was the only state among the 50 assessed to have a dark green final Infrastructure Retrofit Score because the team determined that the DEC’s regulatory framework serves as a model to other states to utilize — both for retrofitting existing yard trimmings-only composting facilities and significantly reducing the barriers to entry for small-scale food waste operations. Further, the DEC updates its organics recycling regulations to reflect emerging approaches to food waste collection and recycling options such as food waste drop-off sites, small-scale food waste haulers, fermentation (e.g., Bokashi), animal feed and codigestion with livestock manure.
