Legislators OK effort to divert food waste
Starting next July, the law would apply to large operations that generate more than 2 tons per week.
KINGSTON, N.Y. >> In one of their last acts of the year, Ulster County lawmakers approved a law requiring all large food generators in the county — those that produce more than 2 tons of food waste per week — to implement food waste diversion and composting efforts.
The law, adopted unanimously by the county Legislature on Dec. 18, now is before County Executive Pat Ryan for consideration. Ryan must hold a public hearing before acting on the measure.
If Ryan signs the bill, food generators producing more than 2 tons of food waste per week would, starting July 1, 2020, have to donate any usable scraps to organizations that feed the hungry; provide food scraps not edible for human consumption but usable in agricultural settings to farmers for animal feed; and compost unusable food scraps.
The local law would be more far-reaching and take effect sooner than the New York State Food Donation and Food Scrap Recycling Act, signed earlier this year by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2022. That law applies only to producers of 2 tons or more of food waste per week and specifically exempts schools, hospitals and nursing homes.
The Ulster County Food Waste Prevention and Recovery Act would apply to producers of at least 2 tons of food waste starting next July. In 2021, the county law would apply to food generators that produce more than 1 ton of food scraps per week; in 2022, it would apply to those that produce more than three-quarters of a ton of food scraps per week; and in 2023, it would apply to those that produce more than a half-ton of food scraps per week.
Also, unlike the state law, Ulster County’s law does not exempt schools, hospitals or nursing homes.
Legislator Manna Jo Greene, who sponsored the measure, said the county law immediately would affect between 25 and 30 businesses that produce at least 2 tons of food waste. Several of those businesses already practice food waste diversion.
“I was pleased to learn that so much food and organic waste is already being successfully diverted by conscientious businesses throughout Ulster County,” Greene, R-Rosendale, said in a press release. “These successful operations can serve as a model to others who want to get started.”
A public hearing on the county legislation has not yet been scheduled.