STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4143

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 10, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  EPSTEIN,  OTIS,  SEAWRIGHT  -- read once and
          referred to the Committee on Environmental Conservation

        AN ACT to amend the  environmental  conservation  law,  in  relation  to
          prevention and diversion of food waste

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
     2  the  "state  and  local  government  food waste prevention and diversion
     3  act".
     4    § 2. Article 27 of the environmental conservation law  is  amended  by
     5  adding a new title 34 to read as follows:
     6                                  TITLE 34
     7       STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOOD WASTE PREVENTION AND DIVERSION
     8                                     ACT
     9  Section 27-3401. Definitions.
    10          27-3403. Required  state  and  municipal  food  service organics
    11                     waste management.
    12          27-3405. Powers of municipalities.
    13  § 27-3401. Definitions.
    14    For the purposes of this title, the following  terms  shall  have  the
    15  following meanings:
    16    1.  "Agency" means any state department, agency, board, public benefit
    17  corporation, public authority, or commission.
    18    2. "Compostable" means all the materials in  the  product  or  package
    19  will  (a)  undergo degradation by biological processes during composting
    20  to yield carbon dioxide, water, inorganic compounds, and  biomass  at  a
    21  rate  consistent with other known compostable materials and (b) leave no
    22  visible, distinguishable or toxic residue, including no  adverse  impact
    23  on  the  ability  of  composts to support plant growth once the finished
    24  compost is placed in soil.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02582-01-3
        A. 4143                             2

     1    3. "Contractors" and "lessees" mean any person or entity  that  has  a
     2  contract  with  an  agency,  municipality  or local education agency for
     3  public works or improvements to be performed, for a  franchise,  conces-
     4  sion  or  lease  of  property, for grant monies or goods and services or
     5  supplies  to  be purchased at the expense of the agency, municipality or
     6  local education agency or to be paid out  of  monies  deposited  in  the
     7  treasury  or  out  of trust monies under the control or collected by the
     8  agency, municipality or local education agency.
     9    4. "Covered food service establishment" means any premises or part  of
    10  a premises to which all of the following apply:
    11    (a) it is operated by an agency, municipality, local education agency,
    12  or  any contractor or lessee of an agency, municipality, or local educa-
    13  tion agency;
    14    (b) it generates, from its food preparation and service,  as  averaged
    15  over the course of the previous ten weeks:
    16    (i)  in  two  thousand twenty-three and two thousand twenty-four, over
    17  two thousand pounds of food waste per week;
    18    (ii) in two thousand twenty-five and two thousand twenty-six, over one
    19  thousand pounds of food waste per week; and
    20    (iii) in two thousand twenty-seven and thereafter, over  five  hundred
    21  pounds of food waste per week; and
    22    (c)  it is located where food is prepared and provided directly to the
    23  consumer, whether such food is provided free  of  charge  or  sold,  and
    24  whether consumption occurs on or off the premises. "Covered food service
    25  establishments"  shall  include,  but  not  be limited to, the following
    26  which also meet the conditions of this paragraph and paragraphs (a)  and
    27  (b)  of  this  subdivision:  full-service restaurants, fast food restau-
    28  rants, cafes, delicatessens, coffee shops, and cafeterias, but shall not
    29  include retail food stores, convenience stores,  pharmacies  and  mobile
    30  food vending units.
    31    5.  "Excess food" means food that is not required to meet the needs of
    32  the covered food service establishment.
    33    6. "Local education agency" means a school district, board of  cooper-
    34  ative  educational services, community college, agricultural and techni-
    35  cal college, state university of New York college of  technology  and  a
    36  center  for  advanced  technology  designated  pursuant to section three
    37  thousand one hundred two-a of the  public  authorities  law,  and  other
    38  postsecondary  provider of career education as set forth annually by the
    39  commissioner as eligible recipients under the federal vocational  educa-
    40  tion act of nineteen hundred eighty-four.
    41    7.  "Municipality"  means  a  village,  town,  city, or county, or any
    42  designated agency thereof.
    43    8. "Organic" means materials produced by or from living organisms.
    44    9. "Organic waste" means readily degradable organic  material  includ-
    45  ing,  but  not limited to, food waste, soiled or unrecyclable paper, and
    46  yard waste in combination with any of the former materials. It does  not
    47  include biosolids, sludge, or septage.
    48  §  27-3403.  Required  state  and  municipal food service organics waste
    49               management.
    50    1. Any covered food service establishment shall do the following:
    51    (a) To the greatest extent practicable,  minimize  its  generation  of
    52  excess,  unused  foods  in  addition  to  food  scraps and organic waste
    53  including, but not limited to, food trimmings and packaging;
    54    (b) To the greatest extent practicable, reduce the need  for  disposal
    55  of its generated excess, unused food, food scraps and any other compost-
        A. 4143                             3

     1  able  or  organic  waste, by providing it for the following purposes, in
     2  descending order of priority:
     3    (i)  feeding or distributing excess, unused, apparently wholesome food
     4  to people, such as the food insecure, through local voluntary  community
     5  not-for-profit  food  assistance  or  similar  programs as authorized by
     6  state and federal law;
     7    (ii) feeding excess, unused food, or food scraps to animals as feed as
     8  authorized by state and federal law;
     9    (iii) composting, anaerobic digestion, or other  processing  of  food,
    10  food  waste,  or  organic  waste  to  generate  soil  amendment or other
    11  products for use in agricultural, horticultural, manufacturing, or other
    12  applications;
    13    (c) Effectuate paragraph (b) of this subdivision by doing the  follow-
    14  ing:
    15    (i)  for management of excess foods or food scrap pursuant to subpara-
    16  graphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph (b) of  this  subdivision,  other  than
    17  those  managed  on-site,  transfer,  or  arrange  for  such transfer, to
    18  locations intended for their consumption or  from  which  they  will  be
    19  distributed for ultimate consumption; and
    20    (ii)  for  management of organic wastes pursuant to subparagraph (iii)
    21  of paragraph (b) of this subdivision, by taking actions  to  (A)  source
    22  separate  organic wastes from other waste and subscribe to a basic level
    23  of recycling service that includes their collection and  recycling;  (B)
    24  recycle  its  organic wastes on-site or self-haul them for recycling; or
    25  (C) subscribe to an organic waste recycling  service  that  may  include
    26  mixed waste processing that specifically recycles organic waste.
    27    (d)  Provide  collection  and educational resources, including regular
    28  periodical guidance, training, updates, signage,  and  flyers,  for  its
    29  workforce  and  the  public  for  the purposes of teaching and retaining
    30  effective procedures for sorting materials for organics and other  recy-
    31  cling.
    32    2.  Each covered food service establishment may provide to its munici-
    33  pality, planning unit, or the department, information on its  practices,
    34  including  amounts of excess food, food scraps, or organic waste managed
    35  by various methods such as those implemented pursuant to subdivision one
    36  of this section, entities or resources utilized for reducing and  manag-
    37  ing such materials, or financing mechanisms and incentives utilized.
    38    3. If the cost for a covered food service establishment to comply with
    39  the requirements of paragraph (c) of subdivision one of this section for
    40  any  or  all  portions  of  excess  food,  food scraps, or organic waste
    41  exceeds fifteen percent of the cost  of  its  disposal  by  landfill  or
    42  incineration,  the  covered  food service establishment may request from
    43  the commissioner a waiver of the requirements for the portions, based on
    44  documented efforts to comply. The commissioner shall review the  request
    45  and,  if  validated,  grant  the  waiver for a period of no greater than
    46  twenty-four months.
    47    4. The provisions of this section shall  not  apply  to  contracts  in
    48  effect  on  the  effective date of this section; provided, however, that
    49  the provisions of this section shall apply to all renewals or extensions
    50  of such contracts entered into on or after the effective  date  of  this
    51  section.
    52    5.  In  the event that two or more covered food service establishments
    53  share  a  common  physical  facility  and   share   services   such   as
    54  waste/recycling  collection  and hauling, dining areas and/or restrooms,
    55  all facilities shall be considered to be one covered food service estab-
        A. 4143                             4

     1  lishment for the purpose of calculating the  amount  of  food  waste  as
     2  provided in subdivision four of section 27-3401 of this title.
     3    6.  The  department  shall  promote  actions  for covered food service
     4  establishments to take pursuant to the requirements of  subdivision  one
     5  of  this section, and for all entities and the public to take in efforts
     6  to manage excess food, food scraps,  and  organic  waste  in  a  similar
     7  manner.
     8    7.  The  department  may  collect  and  report  information to promote
     9  improved management of excess  food,  food  scraps  and  organic  waste,
    10  including information on practices by covered food establishments, other
    11  entities  and  the  public, or lists of entities and resources providing
    12  assistance for reducing such materials, facilities accepting such  mate-
    13  rials,  or  financing  mechanisms  and incentives available for recovery
    14  practices and facilities.
    15  § 27-3405. Powers of municipalities.
    16    Any agency, municipality or  local  education  agency  may  promulgate
    17  regulations,  ordinances, or laws to take any and all reasonable actions
    18  necessary to implement and enforce this title. This title does not limit
    19  the authority of a local governmental agency to  adopt,  implement,  or,
    20  enforce  requirements  on  management  of  excess food, food scraps, and
    21  organic waste that are more stringent or comprehensive than the require-
    22  ments of this title.
    23    § 3. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section 27-0107 of the environ-
    24  mental conservation law, as added by chapter 70 of the laws of 1988,  is
    25  amended to read as follows:
    26    (c)  Such  plan  shall  take  into account the objectives of the state
    27  solid waste management policy, provide for or take into account  manage-
    28  ment  of all solid waste within the planning unit, and embody, as may be
    29  appropriate to  the  circumstances,  sound  principles  of  solid  waste
    30  management,  natural  resources  conservation,  energy  production,  and
    31  employment creating opportunities, including but not limited to:
    32    (i) description of efforts of the planning unit, or any of the munici-
    33  palities therein, to facilitate, participate, or assist in  the  manage-
    34  ment  of  excess food, food scraps, and other organic waste in the solid
    35  waste stream including, but not  limited  to,  description  of  programs
    36  providing  (A)  assistance with reducing the amount of excess food, food
    37  scraps, and organic waste generated, (B) excess  food  to  entities  for
    38  feeding  the  food insecure, (C) excess food and food scraps for feeding
    39  animals, and (D) food and other organic waste to  process  and  generate
    40  soil amendment or other products for use in agricultural, horticultural,
    41  manufacturing, or other applications; and
    42    (ii) assessment and description of (A) known entities accepting excess
    43  food  donations  for  the  purpose  of providing nourishment to the food
    44  insecure and estimated amounts, according to any useful categories, such
    45  as perishable and non-perishable, that are available, (B) known entities
    46  that accept excess food and food scraps for feeding animals,  and  esti-
    47  mated  amounts,  according to available useful categories, and (C) known
    48  entities that accept food and other organic waste to process and  gener-
    49  ate  soil  amendment or other products, and estimated amounts, according
    50  to available useful categories.
    51    § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of  the  month  following
    52  the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law.