MassDEP says state is shifting food‑waste focus to smaller generators as inspections increase

John Fisher, deputy division director for Solid Waste at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, told the organic subcommittee that food waste remains the largest material in the state’s trash stream — "just over 20%" — amounting to "a little bit over 900,000 tons a year" still being disposed. He said the department’s 2030 target is an annual food‑waste reduction of about 780,000 tons, a roughly 500,000‑ton increase from a 2018 baseline.

Fisher said MassDEP estimates current permitted management capacity at about 500,000 tons per year, "enough to handle what we're generating and diverting right now, but not enough to support reaching our 2030 goals." He described interstate flows of food material as growing as neighboring states build anaerobic digestion and compost capacity.

On regulation and compliance, Fisher reviewed the history of the state's disposal ban: the 2014 ban applied to businesses disposing 1 ton or more of food material per week (about 2,000 businesses by MassDEP's estimate), and a 2021 rulemaking lowered that threshold to one‑half ton per week effective last November, roughly doubling the number of regulated businesses.

MassDEP is increasing inspections and enforcement, Fisher said. "We have issued to date a 145 enforcement actions for... commercial organic material," and the department has completed 14 administrative consent orders with penalties that Fisher said "have ranged from $860 to about $5,000." He added MassDEP hired two new waste‑ban inspectors this year and is ramping up both on‑site load inspections and outreach to regulated entities.

The department also has been sending formal requests for information to targeted companies. Fisher said MassDEP has issued about 50 such letters covering roughly 700 locations so far and will track responses; failure to reply can itself lead to enforcement.

Fisher described MassDEP programs that support compliance and capacity: the Recycling Works in Massachusetts technical‑assistance program (more than 750 on‑site assistances to businesses and 65 composting operations assisted), recycling and reuse grant/loan programs (17 loans totaling about $4.5 million and 17 grants totaling about $1.7 million to date), and the Recycling Dividends Program, which delivered about $320,000 in 2024 specifically for food‑waste activities.

Looking ahead, Fisher said MassDEP will use a 2025 midcourse review of its Solid Waste Master Plan to evaluate whether to lower the commercial threshold further, noting key considerations such as voluntary program uptake, cost effectiveness, infrastructure to collect and process more material, contamination risk, and enforcement capacity.

The presentation concluded with Fisher noting MassDEP will post slides and the meeting recording on the subcommittee webpage and that the agency will continue emphasizing small‑source diversion measures.