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N.J. environment committees hold Earth Day hearing on food-waste prevention, spotlight county planning and date-labeling bills
Summary
A joint Senate and Assembly Environment and Energy hearing on Earth Day drew university researchers, food-rescue groups, composters and anaerobic-digestion operators to discuss reducing food waste, backing bills to require county planning for food recovery and to standardize date labels.
A joint hearing of the New Jersey Senate and Assembly Environment and Energy committees on Earth Day focused on policy options to reduce the state’s food waste, with witnesses urging stronger county planning, more prevention measures and clearer date-label standards.
The hearing featured testimony from Dr. Serpell Yuron, director of the Rutgers Eco Complex Clean Energy Innovation Center; Sarah Elnakib, chair of the Family and Community Health Sciences Department at Rutgers Cooperative Extension; Zach Shaben, public affairs manager for Too Good To Go; representatives of the Meal Recovery Coalition and Share My Meals; operators of Trenton Renewables; and representatives of the New Jersey Composting Council and the Association of New Jersey Recyclers.
Witnesses presented statistics and policy recommendations. Dr. Yuron summarized state data, saying that “in New Jersey, approximately 22% of [the] waste stream consists of food waste” and cited 2020 New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection figures, which the committee heard translate to roughly 1,300,000 tons of food waste in that year’s municipal solid waste stream. Witnesses framed food-waste prevention both as a climate action and a way to address hunger.
Committee members and witnesses discussed several bills that were raised during testimony. The hearing referenced S2426, described as the county food-recovery planning bill that would require local solid-waste advisory committees (SWACs) to include food-waste elements in county solid-waste master plans; S200, a date-labeling bill from a prior session that witnesses urged the committees to reintroduce or adapt to New Jersey; and S3889, a bill to reduce campus food waste that has passed the Senate and was under review in the Assembly.
Speakers emphasized prevention and donation guidance in addition to how to grow recycling capacity. Sarah Elnakib urged stronger state guidance for safe food donation and more district-level composting policies for K–12 schools, saying schools need “technical assistance” so they can implement prevention, donation and composting programs. Zach Shaben testified that Too Good To Go’s marketplace has helped New Jersey businesses recoup revenue from surplus food and urged policies that “prioritize prevention” alongside donation.
Panelists called for state incentives and implementation supports: funding for technical assistance to districts and food-recovery organizations, a tiered regulatory approach for composting, and promotion of pilot projects that combine composting and anaerobic digestion. Several witnesses recommended aligning county planning, DEP rulemaking, and local health-inspector guidance so food donation and meal recovery can expand safely.
Committee members closed the session encouraging continued stakeholder work and said they would review the testimony and bills mentioned at the hearing.
