Maine legislators propose food waste ban

Maine lawmakers have introduced legislation to prioritize donating and recycling food waste rather than throwing it away, Maine Morning Star reports.

The state legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee held a public hearing Wednesday, April 16, for a bipartisan bill from Sen. Stacy Brenner (D-Cumberland) that would introduce a food waste ban to address greenhouse gas emissions by diverting food waste from landfills. State legislators attempted similar legislation last session, but it failed given a lack of funding, according to the report.

A 2024 study from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection shows that more than 360,000 tons of food is wasted or lost each year in Maine.

The bill would prohibit significant generators of food waste from disposing of food waste if they are close to a facility that could compost or otherwise dispose of the waste. These generators could include schools, hospitals, food producers and more. The bill outlines a gradual approach to expand the requirement based on location and amount of waste generated.

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If adopted, the bill initially would cover entities that produce an annual average of two or more tons of food waste per week and are located within 20 miles of an organics recycler starting July 1, 2027. In 2029, those parameters would be reduced to one or more tons per week and within 25 miles of an available recycling facility.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has opposed the proposal in the past, saying it would require additional staff to help people understand if they are subject to the ban and how to comply. Additionally, the department has argued that the state lacks the infrastructure for food waste collection, processing and composting for the ban to be effective.

Currently, Maine is the only New England state without some version of a food waste ban, according to the report. Advocates argue that adopting the legislation would help achieve the state’s goal of cutting food loss and waste in half by 2030, as outlined in the state’s most recent climate action plan.

Connecticut was the first New England state to pass a food waste law in 2011, followed by Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.