Introduction
In 2021, the Maryland General Assembly passed House Bill 264/Senate Bill 483 entitled Solid Waste Management – Organics Recycling and Waste Diversion – Food Residuals. The law requires certain entities that generate food residuals to separate the food residuals from other solid waste, and ensure that the food residuals are diverted from final disposal in refuse disposal systems (e.g. landfills or incinerators). Below are resources to learn more about food residuals reduction in Maryland. The focus is to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from landfills; provide edible food to people at a free or lower cost; and improve Maryland's soils. The law does not require food diversion for private residences.
Announcements
Northeast Waste Management Officials' Association (NEWMOA) Environmental Justice Anaerobic Digestion 
Compliance Guide for Regulations: Food Residuals - Organics Recycling and Waste Diversion - Oct 2024
EPA Announces $117 Million for Grants Focused on Recycling and Wasted Food Prevention (see Grant section below)
The Wasted Food Problem
In 2022, approximately 1,592,304 tons of food scraps were generated in Maryland, and 806,990 tons were disposed of in landfills and incinerators. Only
259,809 tons were recycled at organic recycling facilities such as composters and anaerobic digesters or diverted for animal feed. It takes a lot of money, water, and energy to produce our nation's food supply, and by disposing of wasted food into landfills and incinerators, all that money, water and energy is lost. Decomposition of food scraps in a landfill leads to the generation of greenhouse gases, such as methane. Methane is one of the chief gases contributing to climate change. In addition, food
scraps takes up a large amount of space in a landfill, resulting in the filling and closing of landfills at a faster pace. If burned in an incinerator, gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide contribute to increased air pollution.
https://www.epa.gov/land-research/quantifying-methane-emissions-landfilled-food-waste
Much of the food that is discarded into the waste stream is perfectly fine and edible. This food would best be used to help feed people in need through donations to food rescue organizations or community groups. Excess edible food may also be used for animal feed on farms or for pet food. Other food scraps can be sent to an organics recycling facility for composting or anaerobic digestion. This list is just a smattering of reasons why organics recycling is beneficial to the environment:
- Organic waste in landfills generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Composting wasted food and other organics significantly reduces methane, and anaerobic digesting the material captures methane for beneficial reuse.
- Compost and digestate reduce and in some cases eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers.
- Compost and digestate promote higher yields of agricultural crops.
- Compost can aide in reforestation, wetlands restoration, and habitat revitalization efforts by improving contaminated, compacted, and marginal soils.
- Compost may be used to remediate soils contaminated by hazardous waste in a cost effective manner.
- Compost can provide cost savings over conventional soil, water, and air pollution remediation technologies, where applicable.
- Digestate alleviates soil compaction.
- Compost and digestate enhance water retention in soils, reducing need for irrigation.
- Compost provides carbon sequestration.
- Biogas produced from anaerobic digestion can be used for heat and/or energy generation, or processed into natural gas for use as vehicle fuel.
-
Food Waste & Methane: What's the Connection? (USDA)
(Information on this list was adopted from US Environmental Protection Agency's webpages on the benefits of composting and anaerobic digestion)
Innovations for Reducing Food Loss and Waste
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is excited to announce the launch of the new Food Loss and Waste website, called
Innovations for Reducing Food Loss and Waste. This new site describes the monumental problem that Americans and those across the globe face when it comes to food loss and waste. When food is wasted, so is the land, water, labor, energy, and other inputs that are used in producing, processing, transporting, preparing, and storing food.
Food Residuals Diversion Law Summary
In 2021, the Maryland General Assembly passed
House Bill 264/
Senate Bill 483 entitled Solid Waste Management – Organics Recycling and Waste Diversion – Food Residuals, which requires certain entities that generate food residuals to separate the food residuals from other solid waste and ensure that the food residuals are diverted from final disposal in refuse disposal systems.
- The Food Residuals Law only applies to certain facilities and institutions (“Persons" in the law):
- Those that generate 1 ton/week or more of food residuals, and
- Are located within a 30 mile radius of an organics recycler who is willing to accept the food residuals
- The law does NOT apply to residential customers or restaurants.
Food Residuals Diversion Regulations and Compliance Guide
On December 06, 2022, the Secretary of the Environment adopted new regulations under Code of Maryland Regulations
(COMAR) 26.04.13 Food Residuals - Organics Recycling and Waste Diversion. The regulations establish certain conditions for persons required to divert food residuals from final disposal in a refuse disposal system. The new regulations became effective on December 26, 2022.
Presentation and Recording from January 19, 2023, webinar on new regulations.
Determining if the Law Applies to Your Facility
Determination of Applicability of the Food Residuals Diversion Requirem ent document [
ENG /
ESP]
The steps outlined in this document identify, per the law:
- if a facility is considered a “person";
- if the facility meets the location criteria;
- The Department maintains an interactive map which illustrates known organics recycling facilities in and around Maryland as well as each facility's 30-mile “buffer".
- Ctrl + Click the map below to be taken to the online interactive map.
| All organic recycling facilities displayed on this map process food residuals.
For a full explanation of exemptions from permitting requirements, please refer HERE. |
- if the facility generates the threshold amount of food residuals:
- Instructions on how to perform a waste assessment to determine the amount of food residuals generated;
- a timeline for a facility to meet the requirements, and;
- documentation and reporting requirements for the law.
The document also describes the types of records to maintain and examples of forms that can be used to record the data. The EPA also publishes a
Guide to Conducting and Analyzing a Food Waste Assessment.
Presentation from October 4, 2022 Webinar "Does Maryland's Food Residuals Diversion Law Apply to Me?Maryland Food Residual Generation Factor Estimates by Industry Sector [
ENG /
ESP ]
This document explains how various industry types, based on NAICS and SIC codes, can estimate the amount of food residuals they generate. MDE recognizes that schools have a variety of food needs, and the industry sector estimates provide one estimate. Find the recently released Waste Audit for Schools
here.
Waiver Process
The law allows MDE to grant a temporary waiver from the law for a period of up to one year if the Department determines that achieving compliance would present an undue hardship or other reasonable circumstances, as approved by the Department, or a person generates food residuals identified as a biosecurity or food safety concern. Waiver requirements are detailed in
COMAR 26. 04.13.04 and summarized on this
application.
Facilities that have been granted temporary waivers from the law:
Annual Business Reporting Requirements
MDE's Business Recycling Reporting Survey [
online] [
PDF] is now available for MD businesses to report their annual recycling totals. Businesses that are required to divert their food residuals are mandated to report on all forms of recycling and solid waste. Use
this guide on how and why to submit.
On January 10th, 2024 MDE held a webinar introducing the new
Online Annual Business Recycling Report. This webinar reviewed the reporting requirements and gave instructions on accessing, completing, and submitting the annual report. You can view the webinar
HERE.
Methods for Diverting Food Residuals from Disposal
Persons subject to the food residuals diversion requirement can divert food residuals from final disposal in a refuse disposal system through many methods. The EPA has created a
Wasted Food Scale that ranks various diversion methods based on environmental preference:
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Prevent Wasted Food - prevent and reduce the amount of food that's wasted.
- Find solutions that meet your needs.
- Understanding the cost of prevention.
Donate/Upcycle - Edible food that would otherwise become waste can be rescued for do nation to people.
- When donating food, it is important to remember that the donation is for human consumption and needs to be handled accordingly. If food looks or smells bad, is moldy, or has damaged packaging do not donate it – recycle it!
- MDE has coordinated with food recovery organizations and developed the food donation guide in support of Food Residual Diversion. If you are a food recovery organization and would like to be listed as a donation accepting facility – please let us know .
- Congress has passed legislation, known as the
Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, that gives those who donate good edible food protection from liability.
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Feed Animals or Leave Unharvested - Animal feed is regulated by
the State Chemist Section, Maryland Department of Agriculture.
- Swine Health Protection Act (SHPA, 9 CFR Part 166) was implemented in 1982 to protect swine from being fed untreated garbage. Untreated garbage, which is defined in §166.1, is a hazard that can contain disease organisms that are infections or communicable to animals.
- Facilities that treat garbage that is to be fed to swine have to be licensed by the USDA, and meet certain requirements (9 CFR Part 166, various parts). Maryland Department of Agriculture's Animal health program has published statutes and regulations regarding this (Agricultural Article, Title 3, Subtitle 4).
- Gleaning:
Compost and Anaerobic Digestion (Organic Recycling) - Food recycling supports the productive use of inedible food residuals and includes off-site or on-site management systems including composting, vermicomposting and other biological systems, and energy production through anaerobic digestion.
- Agricultural Uses: Food waste may be land applied on agricultural land to supplement or replace commercial fertilizer.
- Composting: Composting is defined as the controlled aerobic biological decomposition of organic waste material.
- Anaerobic Digestion: Recycling food scraps through
anaerobic digestion produces biogas, made primarily of carbon dioxide and methane, and the remaining solid or liquid residual, called "digestate," can be utilized as compost, for land application, or as a soil amendment.
Organic recycling facilities rely on steady biological processes to decompose food scraps. The processes are very sensitive to any non-organic contaminants, which is why source separation of wasted food from other solid waste is important. Here are some helpful resources to reduce contamination of
food scraps:
Food Recovery and Recycling Organizations
Note:
Any listing of businesses below does not constitute a complete directory of all vendors that provide food recovery services in Maryland, nor does it offer an endorsement by the Department.
Food Recovery and Donation - Organizations that assist with donations of foods, or provide outlets for donated foods
- Pantries, Meal Centers, and Programs
- Food Rescue Organizations
- Food Rescue Organization Locators
- These businesses offer food residuals collection and transportation services.
- Dedicated Food Scrap Recyclers
Solid Waste Management Companies (providing food scraps recycling collections)Consultants - Organizations that assist with sustainability: source reduction, recovery, planning, education, etc.On-site Systems - On-site systems for organics collection and processing - Any listing of businesses or products below does not constitute a complete directory of all vendors that provide on-site organics processing or recycling in Maryland, nor does it offer an endorsement by the Department. Products from these systems may require additional approval and registration per COMAR 15.18.04 if the materials are sold or distributed and may require additional steps* to generate a product that is "organically recycled"
- Complete On-Site Organics Recycling Technologies
- Partial On-Site Organics Processing Technologies*
Fact Sheets, Toolkits, Other Technical Resources and Grants
MDE Publications:
For Educators - Resources for educators on the topic of food residual s diversion.
Grants - EPA Announces $117 Million for Grants Focused on Recycling and Wasted Food Prevention
Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) Funding Opportunities
The SWIFR Grants for Communities will provide approximately $58 million in awards ranging from $500,000 to $5 million each. Eligible entities include political subdivisions of states and territories (such as counties, cities, towns, parishes, and similar units of government). The deadline to apply for the SWIFR Grants for Communities is December 20, 2024. To learn more, visit EPA’s SWIFR Grants for Communities webpage.
The SWIFR Grants for Tribes and Intertribal Consortia will provide approximately $20 million in awards ranging from $100,000 to $1.5 million each. Eligible entities include federally recognized Tribes (including Alaskan Native Villages and former Indian reservations in Oklahoma) and Intertribal consortia. The deadline to apply for the SWIFR Grants for Tribes and Intertribal Consortia is March 14, 2025. To learn more, visit EPA’s SWIFR Grants for Tribes and Intertribal Consortia webpage.
- The Federal Grants Database – created by ReFED in partnership with NRDC – is a brand new resource that presents relevant funding opportunities in a dynamic, easy-to-use table.
- The
EPA Grants webpage is a comprehensive resource with information about available grants and also instructional information and videos on how to apply for a federal grant.
- The
Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grants (SWIFR) - The EPA has selected 25 communities to receive grants totaling more than $73 million under the newly created Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grants through the Bipartisan Infrastructure law.
- Maryland's approved workplan summary can be found
HERE
- Baltimore's approved summary can be found
HERE
Maryland's approved workplan will perform a statewide organics assessment and a circular economy and reuse market assessment. An outline of the key components MDE is analyzing along with required outcomes can be found here. If you would like to participate in any of the stakeholder engagement meetings or have data to submit in support of the workplan, please send an email to lma.wdd [at] maryland.gov. In your email, provide your name, affiliation and the specific interest in this project.
MDE Sponsored Educational Events and Recordings
MDE informational webinars
MDE hosted food summits MDE hosts food summits every two years where presentations and discussions on wasted food-related topics are held. Visit the Food Summit dedicated webpage to learn about current programming and previous year events, here.
National Food Waste Prevention Week During the 2024 National Food Waste Prevention Week, MDE hosted a series of lunchtime webinars about different aspects of wasted food diversion. You can access a playlist of these webinars on MDE's YouTube Channel here, and pdf's of the presentations below.
- 4/1/24 - Connecting People With Recovered Food
- 4/2/24 - Maryland's Wasted Food Policies
- 4/4/24 - Organic Recycling with Compost
- 4/5/24 - Composting and Anaerobic Digestion Technologies
Maryland Legislation and Reports
Contact Information
For additional information, please contact the Resource Management Program 410-537-3314 or by emailing Tim Kerr or Shannon McDonald.
County Recycling Coordinators can be found
HERE.
Want to stay connected? Signup to receive email notifications about the food residuals diversion law here !
Report a Pollution Concern
https://mde.maryland.gov/pages/reportpollution.aspx
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