For participants in the EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge (FRC) and WasteWise programs, annual 2015 data and 2016 goals are due March 31, 2016. Participants in either program must submit their 2015 data and 2016 goals in order to stay active and maintain eligibility to receive awards. Enter data and goals by accessing your account on…
The Massachusetts Surplus Property Program helps connect extra equipment, materials, and supplies to entities that can put them to use. State departments periodically declare surplus property which is offered first to other state entities free of charge. After 30 days, any property that has not been claimed is offered to cities and towns for a…
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) is accepting applications for the Commonwealth Organics-to-Energy Program. The funding supports technologies that convert source-separated organic waste into electricity, thermal energy, or compressed gas for vehicle fuel. Applications are currently being accepted for three types of projects: Implementation and Pilot Project Construction Funding. Due March 22. Feasibility Studies. Due…
Last fall, the USDA and EPA posted a video about their goal to reduce wasted food in the US by fifty percent by 2030. In the video, Tom Vilsack (Agriculture Secretary) and Gina McCarthy (EPA) discuss the issue of wasted food and the importance of connecting surplus food to those who need it. Currently, nearly…
BioCycle Magazine recently featured the organics diversion program at Deerfield Academy. This independent boarding school has been diverting compostable waste from their dining hall for years. Recently, the school has been expanding efforts to divert organic waste across the campus as part of an effort to overhaul the campus-wide recycling program. The school calls this…
The Telegram reports on Food Recovery Network chapters at the College of the Holy Cross, Becker College, and Nichols College. The Food Recovery Network (FRN) was founded in 2011 by students at the University of Maryland who recognized how much dining hall food was being wasted. Currently, FRN has more than 150 chapters at colleges…
The results of the 2015 GameDay Recycling Challenge have been posted. MassLive reports that UMass Amherst received first and second place awards for their recycling efforts. UMass students collected recycling at three tailgating parties at McGuirk Alumni Stadium this fall. UMass recycled 18.693 pounds of materials. They placed first in the Mid-American Conference for…
The Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic has updated the tax incentive fact sheet for Massachusetts businesses that donate food. These updates incorporate recent changes to federal tax code that increase the incentive for businesses to donate edible food to social service organizations. The updated fact sheet is available on the Food Donation Guidance for…
In November, The Take Away interviewed Ashley Stanley of Lovin’ Spoonfuls, a Boston-based food rescue organization, about how food donation can help reduce food waste. Lovin’ Spoonfuls collects food that businesses would otherwise throw away and distributes to social service organizations. The interview highlights how local and state waste bans, like the Massachusetts Commercial Organics…
A blog post by the Harvard Law School’s Food Law and Policy Clinic details recent changes the tax code around food donations. Changes to the tax code allow for businesses other than C-Corporations to receive an enhanced tax deduction when making qualifying food donations, and make the deductions a permanent part of the tax code.…
