A recent article in The Huffington Post recognizes four states, including Massachusetts, for innovative approaches to reduce wasted food. The article also highlights initiatives in Vermont, Ohio, and California. In 2014, Massachusetts passed the Commercial Organics Waste Ban, which prohibits businesses and institutions that generate one ton or more of food waste per week from…
Food pantries are regular recipients of donated surplus food from business and institutions. RecyclingWorks Food Donation Guidance provides information to help food service entities connect with food rescue organizations to donate surplus food to those who need it. Like other food service entities, food pantries generate food scraps that cannot be eaten. Recently, RecyclingWorks assisted…
The Closed Loop Foundation (CL Foundation) has released a “Food Waste Solution Search Request for Proposal.” The CL Foundation supports solutions that improve the waste and recycling industry and recently launched a Food Waste Initiative. This initiative supports the ReFED report, A Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste by 20 Percent. This Food Waste Solution…
The Huffington Post released an article highlighting the importance of food donation and the need for more uniform guidance and regulations around donation. Thanks to the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, restaurants that donate food are protected from civil and criminal liability, with the exception of gross negligence or intentional misconduct. However, many…
WickedLocal.com highlights Massachusetts grocery stores’ diversion programs for wasted food. These programs help grocery stores comply with the Commercial Organics Waste Ban which bans businesses and institutions from disposing of one ton or more of food waste per week. Big Y sends 2,500 tons of wasted food annually from all Massachusetts and nine Connecticut stores…
Rethink Food Waste through Economics and Data (ReFED) released a video component to “The Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste by 20%.” ReFED is a collaboration of over 30 businesses, nonprofits, foundations, and government leaders founded in 2015 to create the roadmap. The ReFED roadmap is a national study and action plan for reducing food…
Recycling Today announced the new recycling service provided by Leigh Fibers, a textile waste and reprocessing company. Leigh Fibers will partner with Cintas, a large industry uniform provider, to provide a Uniform Recycling Service. Most out-of-service uniforms end up in landfills. Leigh Fibers’ Uniform Recycling Service provides an outlet to recycle worn and unusable uniforms…
Keep America Beautiful (KAB), US Composting Council (USCC), and Kimberly-Clark Professional have released “A Guide to Workplace Composting.” This guide provides information on setting up a program to collect organic waste for composting at a range of workplaces such as office buildings, hotels, hospitals, and restaurants. The check list in the guide includes the 6…
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection announced the first round of Recycling Business Development Grant (RBDG) recipients. The RBDG recipients are Massachusetts recycling processors and manufacturers that intend to create a sustainable recycling market for eligible materials. Seven Massachusetts companies received an RBDG grant. These companies include: Aaron Industries Abby Enterprises Inc. Casella Waste Management…
The United Nations and other leading international organizations announced the Food Loss and Waste Accounting and Reporting Standard (FLW Standard), a global standard that will help measure food loss and waste. This standard includes global definitions and reporting requirements for countries and companies to encourage the accuracy of food loss metrics and reports. These standards encourage…
