Bill Text: IL HB2524 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Presents the findings of the General Assembly. Establishes a goal of the State to reduce by 50% the amount of food waste generated annually by 2030. Provides that the goal includes reducing the amount of edible food that is wasted. Provides that, by October 1, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency, in consultation with the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Public Health, must develop and adopt a State Wasted Food Reduction and Food Waste Diversion Plan designed to achieve the goal. Provides requirements for the Plan. Creates the Waste Reduction, Recycling, and Litter Control Fund to be used for specified purposes regarding litter and food waste reduction. Makes a conforming change in the State Finance Act. Contains other provisions. Effective January 1, 2024.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Failed) 2025-01-07 - Session Sine Die [HB2524 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB2524-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB2524 Introduced , by Rep. Sonya M. Harper SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
415 ILCS 5/22.34a new
30 ILCS 105/5.990 new
Amends the Environmental Protection Act. Presents the findings of the General Assembly. Establishes a goal of the State to reduce by 50% the amount of food waste generated annually by 2030. Provides that the goal includes reducing the amount of edible food that is wasted. Provides that, by October 1, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency, in consultation with the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Public Health, must develop and adopt a State Wasted Food Reduction and Food Waste Diversion Plan designed to achieve the goal. Provides requirements for the Plan. Creates the Waste Reduction, Recycling, and Litter Control Fund to be used for specified purposes regarding litter and food waste reduction. Makes a conforming change in the State Finance Act. Contains other provisions. Effective January 1, 2024.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning safety.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Environmental Protection Act is amended by
adding Section 22.34a as follows:
(415 ILCS 5/22.34a new)
Sec. 22.34a. Food waste reduction.
(a) The General Assembly finds that:
(1) The wasting of food represents a misuse of
resources, including the water, land, energy, labor, and
capital that go into growing, harvesting, processing,
transporting, and retailing food for human consumption.
Wasting edible food occurs all along the food production
supply chain and reducing the waste of edible food is a
goal that can be achieved only with the collective efforts
of growers, processors, distributors, retailers, consumers
of food, and food banks and related charities. Inedible
food waste can be managed in ways that reduce negative
environmental impacts and provide beneficial results to
the land, air, soil, and energy infrastructure. Efforts to
reduce the waste of food and expand the diversion of food
waste to beneficial end uses will also require the mindful
support of government policies that shape the behavior and

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waste reduction opportunities of each of those
participants in the food supply chain.
(2) Every year, American consumers, businesses, and
farms spend billions of dollars growing, processing,
transporting, and disposing of food that is never eaten.
That represents tens of millions of tons of food sent to
landfills annually, plus millions of tons more that are
discarded or left unharvested on farms. Worldwide, the
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has
estimated that if one-fourth of the food lost or wasted
globally could be saved, it would be enough to feed 870
million hungry people. Meanwhile, one in 8 Americans is
food insecure, including one in 6 children. Recent data
indicates that Illinois is not immune to food waste
problems, and recent estimates indicate that 17% of all
garbage sent to Illinois disposal facilities is food
waste, including 8% that is food that was determined to be
edible at the time of disposal. In recognition of the
widespread benefits that would accrue from reductions in
food waste, in 2015, the Administrator of the United
States Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary
of the United States Department of Agriculture announced a
national goal of reducing food waste by 50% by 2030. The
Pacific Coast Collaborative recently agreed to a similar
commitment of halving food waste by 2030, including
efforts to prevent, rescue, and recover wasted food.

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(3) By establishing State wasted food reduction goals
and developing a State wasted food reduction strategy, it
is the intent of the General Assembly to continue its
national leadership in solid waste reduction efforts by:
(A) improving efficiencies in the food production
and distribution system in order to reduce the
cradle-to-grave greenhouse gas emissions associated
with wasted food;
(B) fighting hunger by more efficiently diverting
surplus food to feed hungry individuals and families
in need; and
(C) supporting expansion of management facilities
for inedible food waste to improve access and facility
performance while reducing the volumes of food that
flow through those facilities.
(b) In this Section:
"Food waste" means waste from fruits, vegetables, meats,
dairy products, fish, shellfish, nuts, seeds, grains, and
similar materials that results from the storage, preparation,
cooking, handling, selling, or serving of food for human
consumption.
"Food waste" includes, but is not limited to, excess,
spoiled, or unusable food and inedible parts commonly
associated with food preparation such as pits, shells, bones,
and peels. "Food waste" does not include animal excrement or
dead animals not intended for human consumption.

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"Fund" means the Waste Reduction, Recycling, and Litter
Control Fund.
"Plan" means the State Wasted Food Reduction and Food
Waste Diversion Plan developed and adopted under subsection
(e).
"Prevention" means avoiding the wasting of food, which
represents the greatest potential for cost savings and
environmental benefits for businesses, governments, and
consumers.
"Recovery" means processing inedible food waste to extract
value from it through composting, anaerobic digestion, or use
as animal feedstock.
"Rescue" means the redistribution of surplus edible food
to other consumers.
"Wasted food" means the edible portion of food waste.
(c) A goal is established for the State to reduce by 50%
the amount of food waste generated annually by 2030, relative
to 2015 levels. A subset of this goal must include a prevention
goal to reduce the amount of edible food that is wasted.
(d) The Agency may estimate 2015 levels of wasted food in
Illinois using any combination of solid waste reporting data
obtained under this Act and surveys and studies measuring
wasted food and food waste in other jurisdictions. For the
purposes of measuring progress toward the goal under
subsection (c), the Agency must adopt standardized metrics and
processes for measuring or estimating volumes of wasted food

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and food waste generated in the State.
(e) By October 1, 2024, the Agency, in consultation with
the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Public
Health, must develop and adopt a State Wasted Food Reduction
and Food Waste Diversion Plan designed to achieve the goal
established under subsection (c). The Plan must comply with
all of the following:
(1) The Plan must include strategies, in descending
order of priority, to:
(A) prevent and reduce the wasting of edible food
by residents and businesses;
(B) help match and support the capacity for edible
food that would otherwise be wasted with food banks
and other distributors that will ensure the food
reaches those who need it; and
(C) support productive uses of inedible food
materials, including use for animal feed, energy
production through anaerobic digestion, or other
commercial uses, and for off-site or on-site
management systems, including composting,
vermicomposting, or other biological systems.
(2) The Plan must:
(A) recommend a regulatory environment that
optimizes activities and processes to rescue safe,
nutritious, edible food;
(B) recommend a funding environment in which

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stable, predictable resources are provided to wasted
food prevention and rescue and food waste recovery
activities in such a way as to allow the development of
additional capacity and the use of new technologies;
(C) avoid placing burdensome regulations on the
hunger relief system, and ensure that organizations
involved in wasted food prevention and rescue and food
waste recovery retain discretion to accept or reject
donations of food when appropriate;
(D) provide State technical support to wasted food
prevention and rescue and food waste recovery
organizations;
(E) support the development and distribution of
equitable materials to support food waste and wasted
food educational and programmatic efforts in K-12
schools, in collaboration with the State Board of
Education, and aligned with Illinois science and
social studies learning standards; and
(F) facilitate and encourage restaurants and other
retail food establishments to safely donate food to
food banks and food assistance programs through
education and outreach regarding safe food donation
opportunities, practices, and benefits.
(3) The Plan must include suggested best practices
that local governments may incorporate into solid waste
management plans.

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(4) The Agency must solicit feedback from the public
and interested stakeholders throughout the process of
developing and adopting the Plan. To assist with its Plan
development responsibilities, the Agency may designate a
stakeholder advisory panel. If the Agency designates a
stakeholder advisory panel, it must consist of local
government health departments, local government solid
waste departments, food banks, hunger-focused nonprofit
organizations, waste-focused nonprofit organizations,
K-12 public education, and food businesses or food
business associations.
(5) The Agency must identify the sources of
scientific, economic, or other technical information it
relies upon in developing the Plan required under this
subsection, including peer-reviewed science.
In conjunction with the Plan, the Agency, the Department
of Agriculture, and the Department of Public Health must
consider recommending changes to State statutory or
administrative laws or rules, including changes to relevant
food quality, labeling, and inspection requirements and the
donation of food waste or wasted food for animals, in order to
achieve the goal established under subsection (c). Any such
recommendations must be explained via a report to the General
Assembly on or before December 1, 2024. Prior to any
implementation of the Plan, for the activities, programs, or
policies in the Plan that would impose new obligations on

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State agencies, local governments, businesses, or citizens,
the report must outline any recommended changes to State
statutory or administrative laws or rules in the Plan. This
outline must include the Agency's or the appropriate State
agency's plan to make recommendations for any identified
changes to statutory laws or administrative rules. In
combination with any identified statutory or administrative
rule changes, the Agency or the appropriate State agency must
include expected cost estimates for government entities and
private persons or businesses to comply with any recommended
changes.
In support of the development of the Plan, the Department
of Commerce and Economic Opportunity must contract for an
independent evaluation of the State's food waste and wasted
food management system.
(f) The Waste Reduction, Recycling, and Litter Control
Fund is created as a special fund in the State treasury. Moneys
in the Fund may be spent only after being appropriated.
Expenditures from the Fund shall be as follows:
(1) 50% to the Agency, primarily for use by the
Agency, the Department of Natural Resources, the
Department of Revenue, the Department of Transportation,
and the Department of Corrections for litter collection
programs. The amount to the Agency shall also be used:
(A) for a central coordination function for litter
control efforts statewide;

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(B) to support employment of youth in litter
cleanup and for litter pick-up using other authorized
agencies; and
(C) for statewide public awareness programs.
The amount to the Agency under this paragraph (1)
shall also be used to defray the costs of administering
the funding, coordination, and oversight of local
government programs for waste reduction, litter control,
recycling, and composting so that local governments can
apply 100% of their funding to achieving program goals.
The amount provided to the Department of Revenue shall be
used to enforce compliance with any applicable litter
taxes.
(2) 20% to the Agency for unit of local government
programs for waste reduction, litter control, recycling
activities, and composting activities by cities and
counties, to be administered by the Agency.
(3) Any unspent funds under paragraph (2) may be used
(i) to create and pay for a matching fund competitive
grant program to be used by units of local government for
the development and implementation of contamination
reduction and outreach plans for inclusion in
comprehensive solid waste management plans or (ii) by
units of local government and nonprofit organizations for
local or statewide education programs designed to help the
public with litter control, waste reduction, recycling,

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and composting. Recipients under this paragraph (3) shall
include programs to reduce wasted food and food waste that
are designed to achieve the goal established under
subsection (c) and that are consistent with the Plan
developed under subsection (e). Grants under this
paragraph (3) must adhere to the following requirements:
(A) No grant may exceed $60,000.
(B) Grant recipients shall match the grant funding
allocated by the Agency by an amount equal to 25% of
eligible expenses. A unit of local government's share
of these costs may be met by contributing cash or
services.
(C) The obligation of the Agency to make grant
payments is contingent upon the availability of the
amount of money appropriated for paragraph (2).
(D) Grants must be managed under the Agency's
guidelines for existing grant programs.
(E) Funding programs to collect yard waste and
food waste, if the unit of local government submitting
the plan finds that there are adequate markets or
capacity for composted yard waste and food waste
within or near a service area to consume the majority
of the material collected.
Each comprehensive solid waste management plan
submitted under this paragraph shall include a waste
reduction and recycling element with waste reduction

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strategies, which may include strategies to reduce wasted
food and food waste that are designed to achieve the goal
established under subsection (c) and that are consistent
with the Plan developed under subsection (e).
(4) 30% to the Agency to:
(A) implement activities for waste reduction,
recycling, and composting efforts;
(B) provide technical assistance to local
governments and commercial businesses to increase
recycling markets and recycling and composting
programs designed to educate citizens about waste
reduction, litter control, and recyclable and
compostable products and programs;
(C) increase access to waste reduction,
composting, and recycling programs, particularly for
food packaging, plastic bags, or appropriate
composting techniques; and
(D) fund programs to reduce wasted food and food
waste that are designed to achieve the goals
established under subsection (c) and that are
consistent with the Plan developed under subsection
(e).
Section 10. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
Section 5.990 as follows:

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(30 ILCS 105/5.990 new)
Sec. 5.990. The Waste Reduction, Recycling, and Litter
Control Fund.
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
1, 2024.