By
TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff
 |
| Earth Care Farms in Charlestown produces top quality compost from food waste (from their website) |
PROVIDENCE
— Food-scrap diversion efforts will be ramping up in Rhode Island, as the
General Assembly on June 19 put the final touches on legislation that requires most large
institutions that generate organic waste to steer clear of the landfill.
Starting
in 2016, supermarkets, food wholesalers, food makers, conference centers,
banquet halls, restaurants, prisons, corporations, religious institutions,
hospitals, casinos and military bases that produce more than 104 tons of
organic waste annually must donate leftover food or ship it to a compost
facility, farm or an anaerobic digester — provided there is one within 15 miles
and the facility has room for it.
The
bill was held up at the last minute to include language that exempts K-12
public schools. The provision was added at the behest of the R.I. Association
of School Committees. The sponsor of the House bill, Rep. Donna Walsh,
D-Charlestown, said there isn’t a public school in the state that is big enough
to generate 104 tons of food scrap a year. She hopes schools will voluntarily
manage organic waste, if for no other reason than to use it as educational
tool.
The
law also makes sure that food recycling isn't an added financial burden, by
allowing an institution to opt out if the cost to divert organic scrap from the
waste stream is more that trucking it to the landfill.
Walsh
noted that several studies in New England have shown that diverting food scrap
saved money for supermarkets.
The
commercial tipping fee at the Central Landfill in Johnston is $75 a ton.
According to the Conservation Law Foundation, tipping fees at anaerobic
digesters across the United States range from $20-$50 a ton. A study by
Pennsylvania State University showed an average tipping fee of $36 a ton at
U.S. composting facilities.
Rhode Island's only commercial composting
site, Earth
Care Farm in Charlestown, charges $30 a ton for food scrap. The
state’s first anaerobic digester is planned for Quonset Business Park.
Rhode
Island joins Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont as states with similar laws
for managing food scrap. Vermont is the only state that eventually mandates
residential composting. Laws in Massachusetts and Connecticut apply to
commercial institutions. Both take effect this year.
The
Rhode Island bill originally had a phase-in schedule that required all
non-residential entities to manage food scrap by 2021. The schedule was removed
after opposition to the bill by the Rhode Island Hospitality Association and
Dunkin’ Brands, the owner of Dunkin’ Donuts.
The
legislation received strong support from the environmental community and from
the state Department of Environmental Management (DEM). Proponents said food
scrap management extends the life of the landfill, creates jobs and cuts
greenhouse gas emissions.
Walsh
said passing the bill is only the first step for making composting a habit in
Rhode Island. “It starts the process," she said.