Vermont towns are starting to sift through a recent law enacted that will change how they interact with waste. Through a series of steps to begin in 2015, Act 148 (lawyerese full text) will revolutionize the state’s approach to trash.
As explained in this simplified version on page 9-10, the bill will require residents to separate many items from their household trash. By 2020, Vermonters will have to separate food waste from their regular waste stream.
It’s unclear whether this separated food waste will be sent to a composting, anaerobic digestion or other kind of facility (Perhaps feeding hogs or…moose?). No matter the outcome, it can’t be worse than the landfill-heavy status quo.
Coming in the wake of Massachusetts’ ban on commercial food waste by 2014, this is another large step toward keeping food out of landfills. And from what we read here–there will be an emphasis on reducing the amount of waste created by making people pay for the volume of waste discarded while recycling food (and other stuff) will be free. Amen.
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