MAKING PROGRESS ON UNIVERSAL RECYCLING VORS

Transcription

1 MAKING PROGRESS ON UNIVERSAL RECYCLING VORS Bryn Oakleaf & Celia Riechel Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Waste Management & Prevention Division

2 Remember the mission: unsustainable status quo Decades of: Stagnant Diversion Fluctuating Disposal About 50% of materials disposed of in the landfill could be recycled Still just one little EARTH

3 Obligatory machinery-in-landfill photo (Not so good materials management)

4 Act 148: comprehensive solid waste legislation Required Diversion (bans) = Motivation Recyclables Leaf, yard, and clean wood Food scraps

5 Universal Recycling: Phased rollout MATERIAL FACILITIES HAULERS LANDFILL BAN Recyclables Leaf/Yard Waste Food Scraps Clean Wood 2016

6 UR: Food Scraps Phases for larger food scrap generators IF there is a facility within 20 miles 2014: >104 tons/year 2 tons/wk 2015: >52 tons/year 2016: >26 tons/year 1 ton/wk 1/2 ton/wk 2017: >18 tons/year 1/3 ton/wk 2020: ALL food scraps banned from landfill Applies to households too

7 Obligatory: Food Recovery Hierarchy slide Differs from EPA slightly (Notice landfill isn t listed)

8 2 birds, 1 stone: Providing hunger relief by preventing wasted food WASTED FOOD: 30-40% of food produced in US goes uneaten, worth $165 billion 60,000+ tons of food is landfilled in VT annually (WCS 2013) Only ~10% of edible surplus food is rescued Avg family of four wastes ~$1,500/yr from uneaten food HUNGER: 49 million Americans live in food-insecure homes 13% of Vermonters are food-insecure, a 4% increase from 2000 Reducing food losses by 15% could feed 25+ million Americans

9 To put it bluntly...

10 Cosmetic Mold Pests Short term food safety concerns Decline in market value/market demand SOME of the REASONS:

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12 Food for People: Charitable & Value-Added Winooski doughnut maker cooks up a food revolution Burlington Free Press Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act (1996) helps protect food donors from liability associated with donated food.

13 Food for People: Charitable Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act (1996) provides liability protection for food donors so long as there is no gross negligence. *No lawsuits thus far* Food rescued is UP!* Sept 2015: Up 24% Dec 2015: Up 30% March 2016: Up 108%** *relating that to Sys. Analysis predictions **YTD for 10/1/15 to 3/31/16 Extended Tax Benefits for Donation (2015) Extends tax benefits to all companies & permanent for all businesses. Higher Deduction Cap 15% of donor net income, with options to carry forward donation related deductions in excess of the 15% of income limitation for up to five years.

14 Food Scraps for animals

15 Food Scraps for animals

16 Food Scraps for compost/ad Visit the VTC digester this afternoon! Digester at VT Technical College Onsite school composting

17 Food Scraps for compost/ad Green Mountain Compost

18 Food Scraps for AD Big Bertha Big B First AD in Vermont to hold an ANR Solid Waste Facility Certification Blue Spruce Farm (up next?)

19 Clean power, clean lake Plans for five digesters along Lake Champlain

20 100+ Schools Diverting

21 OPTIONS for Residents (Everyone likes Options) Prevent Wasted Food! (Obvious? Maybe not) Food: Too Good to Waste Feed the Birds Feeding food scraps to laying hens Compost the rest Backyard Curbside Drop-off

22 VT Estimated Needed Funding (2015):

23 Roadmap ReFED Report (2016): $218b (27 solutions + $18b) = $100b value + 20% redux ~10 yr

24 Federal Legislation Food Recovery Act Rep. Pingree, ME Introduced Dec Recognize anything?

25 State Legislation & City Ordinances States Connecticut California Rhode Island Massachusetts Vermont Cities Seattle San Francisco New York City

26 Policy convergence 18 V.S.A. CH 159 Rental Housing Health Code Revised to require diversion - mirrors phase-in of UR law Act 64 Vermont Clean Water Act Farm nutrient mgmt. plans manure AD Runoff and erosion control compost use(?) Act 56 Renewable Energy Standard 75% renewable by 2032 (55% by 2017) food scraps AD Act 175 Architectural Waste Recycling Law Recycling of certain C&D wastes - clean wood

27 Building inter-agency partnerships State agencies and departments: Agency of Agriculture Vermont Department of Health Buildings & General Services Agency of Education Tax Department Federal agencies and departments: Environmental Protection Agency US Department of Agriculture Food Nutrition Standards Rural Development

28 Building external partnerships State agencies & municipalities: CSWD K-12 School share tables & donation CVSWMD Rental housing Windham Expanding curbside food scrap collection Farm to School Coordinators And many others! State agencies and local partners: Food access groups (ex: Vermont Foodbank, Hunger Free Vermont, Salvation Farms, etc.) Grocers, Restaurateurs & Chefs

29 Media campaign

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31 How to get to 2020 and beyond? Innovate & Replicate Include prevention, rescue & diversion training in technical assistance Offer solutions based services to work along hierarchy Take advantage of what s already there Federal liability protection & tax incentives for donation USDA-RD small planning grants & capital loans for municipalities Network: Farm to School Coordinators; Farm to Plate Network; etc. Infrastructure: 200+ Vermont Foodbank network partners Fill in & expand infrastructure Connect generators (aka donors ) with donation centers Increase options for collection and processing

32 Universal Recycling needs YOU! Connect with local Solid Waste Mgmt. Entities Become a Community Educator Volunteer for a food rescue center Talk to friends, family and establishments about preventing, donating and diverting Buy compost for gardening, landscaping, flood resiliency Be an entrepreneur & innovate Find opportunity, create solutions, share w/ community

33 Universal Recycling needs YOU!

34 Join us. #VORS16 #myvermontlife ANR Waste Management & Prevention Division Celia Riechel Bryn Oakleaf