MassDEP proposes two-stage expansion of food-waste disposal ban; stakeholders press on capacity and enforcement

BOSTON ' MassDEP staff on a stakeholder call outlined a two-stage proposal to tighten the state's food-waste disposal rules and asked municipalities, haulers, schools and recyclers to weigh in on capacity, enforcement and implementation.

John Fisher, who led the discussion for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, said the agency is considering a first step that would effectively lower the commercial organics threshold to a zero-like standard for businesses and institutions with food-service operations, and a second step, no sooner than 2030, that could extend a universal disposal ban to residential food waste. "Food waste is, as probably most of you know, the single largest material in our solid waste stream," Fisher said, noting the state produces roughly 930,000 tons of food waste annually and has a 2030 diversion goal of 780,000 tons.

Why it matters: MassDEP staff said in-state handling capacity is limited and unevenly distributed. Fisher estimated current Massachusetts capacity at about 500,000'510,000 tons, with a neighborhood of 140,000 tons currently available; he said the state would need roughly…