An article in the Boston College student publication, The Gavel, describes the college’s food donation program. Every Bite Counts (eBC) is a student volunteer group that has been helping donate leftover dining hall food since 2005. Five nights each week, student volunteers package and label leftovers from dinner. The group works with Lovin’ Spoonfuls Food…
MetroWest Daily News reports on a range of food waste reduction efforts going on across the MetroWest region. The Massachusetts Commercial Organics Waste Ban, which went into effect in October of 2014, has motivated increased interest in diverting surplus food and food scraps from landfills and incinerators. The article describes examples of businesses and institutions…
WCVB reports on the awards that the EPA recently announced which recognize organizations for their food waste reduction efforts. Four of the fourteen organizations that received awards nationwide are located in New England. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection was recognized for food waste outreach and technical assistance provided through the RecyclingWorks program. Salem State…
The MetroWest Daily News published an article about The Food Recovery Act, which was introduced this week. This bill outlines a series of strategies for reducing food waste on a national level including expanding tax deductions and liability protections for businesses and institutions that donate food. Massachusetts, which implemented a commercial organics waste ban in…
The Mass DEP just announced a new grant program, the Recycling Business Development Grant (RBDG), intended to help Massachusetts recycling processors and manufacturers create sustainable markets for eligible materials, and to add value to municipal and business recycling efforts. Selected applicants can receive grant awards up to $400,000. The application deadlines are: Round 1 –…
The MetroWest Daily News published an article about the Food Donation Guidance recently posted to the RecyclingWorks website. RecyclingWorks is a program funded by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) to help business create or expand recycling, composting, and other waste diversion strategies. Since the MassDEP established the Commercial Organics Waste Ban in 2014,…
Bumper 2 Bumper Magazine is a free biweekly listing of used cars and other motorized vehicles distributed to over 500 locations throughout Western New England. This summer, Bumper 2 Bumper called the RecyclingWorks hotline when the company that had been recycling their surplus magazines into cellulose insulation moved. RecyclingWorks staff connected Bumper 2 Bumper Magazine…
A recent article on the Sustainable City Network website features three large institutions that have implemented food waste diversion programs. The article describes the logistics and challenges that each institution had to address to collect food waste on a large scale. One of the featured institutions is Boston University, which diverts food waste from both their…
The Food Waste Reduction Alliance (FWRA) has created a Best Practices & Emerging Solutions Guide. FWRA is an initiative of the Food Marketing Institute, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, and the National Restaurant Association. FWRA has three main goals: To reduce the amount of food waste generated To increase the amount of surplus food that is…
WCAI Local NPR for the Cape, the Coast, and the Islands, reported on RecyclingWorks efforts to reduce food waste in conjunction with the Massachusetts Commercial Organics Waste Ban. The story is based on an interview with RecyclingWorks staff, Lorenzo Macaluso. Macaluso describes how RecyclingWorks helps businesses divert excess food through source reduction, donation, composting, and…
