3 Ways You Can Help Protect Our Soil

 

1. Read Draft Policy for Source Separation of Food Residuals & Heavily Packaged Food - and the Coalition’s comments

2023 News & Advocacy Updates

Defining depackaging in law

After the successful passage of Act 170 (2022), the Protect Our Soils Coalition advocated for legislators to continue their work on clarifying the use of depackaging technology by setting some of the important parameters for its use in law. Neither the respective House or Senate Committee decided to take testimony on the related stakeholder process that ended with a final report submitted to the legislature January 15, 2023. 

Policy & guidance development

The Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) developed draft policy and guidance documents based on the recommendations of the stakeholder group that met throughout fall of 2022 regarding the application of the organics management hierarchy to generators.

Our groups support these aspects of the draft Policy for Source Separation of Food Residuals & Heavily Packaged Food Residuals

Affirms source separation

The draft emphasizes source separation at the point of generation as the primary food residual management method

Requires contamination reduction

The draft calls on all stakeholders - generators, haulers, and facility operators - to screen for contamination in the food residuals collection.

Promotes clean organic streams

The draft prohibits commingling source separated food residuals with non-compostable materials throughout the management process.

We request the Agency strengthen the Draft Policy through the following changes:

  • Provide more clarity on what is and is not defined as heavily packaged food residuals

  • Clearly articulate on how facilities are required to manage - and keep separate - source separated organics and heavily packaged residuals

  • Define the appropriate uses of the organic output from depackaging facilities which excludes land application on agricultural fields or use as gardening soil

Upcoming rulemaking to watch for:

Rulemaking from VAAFM

Act 41 (2021) charges VAAFM to issue rules for on-farm composting no later than January 2023. While we are still waiting for these rules, the Agency did host a session at the Vermont Organics Recycling Summit. 

  • The recording of this VAAFM session will be available soon!.

Rulemaking from ANR (coming in 2024)

In contrast to the “policy” that directs the administration of the law - rules will apply to generators and service providers directly. Given the importance of establishing clear and enforceable standards for how food residuals and heavily packaged food residuals are managed, we urge the ANR to incorporate several components of the Draft Policy into rule. This will give these requirements greater legal effect and empower the Agency to take enforcement action if needed.

Action during the 2022 Legislative Session

The Protect Our Soils Coalition urged the Legislature to recognize and address increasing concerns about soil contamination in Vermont. The resulting bill (Act 170) launched a process for regulating depackaging technology as well as an ANR study on microplastics and PFAS in food packaging and food waste.

The Depackager Stakeholder Group is charged with making recommendations for the management of food waste that address contamination issues with microplastics (including PFAS). This includes proposing guidelines for the role of depackaging technology.

Tom Gilbert (Black Dirt Farm), a member of the Protect Our Soils Coalition, is one of the seven members of  the Depackager Stakeholder Group. However, we remain concerned by the emphasis on industry stakeholders over independent experts and are advocating for additional members to be included.

In regards to the management of food residuals, Act 170 includes:

  • A moratorium on further permitting of food depackaging facilities until rules have been adopted. This does not impact the existing facility in Williston, VT but the expansion of capacity for this new industry

  • A collaborative stakeholder process, that will recommend rules to define a role for depackagers in managing food waste 

  • A study on microplastics and PFAS in food packaging and food waste by ANR and VAAFM, to be presented to the legislature by January 15, 2024

Why this work is important

The Protect Our Soils Coalition formed to address the  “zero sort” consolidation of waste streams of food residuals. This practice creates new resource concerns that the Universal Recycling Law was intended to solve and hinders market development for small scale composters.

The Protect Our Soils Coalition advocated for Sections 24-28 of Act 170 (H.446, relating to miscellaneous natural resources and development subjects) that was signed into law by the Governor on June 2, 2022.

Testimony given from Protect Our Soil Coalition Members

Language from the original bills can be found here: H.501 and S.282. 

The coalition continues to advocate for:

  • A ban on the application of organics (”slurries”) derived from depackaging facilities on agricultural land;

  • Regulation of the industry with the goal of strategically supporting the implementation the source separation requirement;

  • A ban of all non-packaged, easily unpackaged and post-consumer materials from being mixed with packaged materials for processing at depackaging facilities;

  • A pathway for clean waste streams and the use of composts from food residuals that have been separated from their packaging prior to their processing and land application; and 

  • Transparency for farmers, gardeners and other consumers utilizing compost, digestate or other end products that may contain pollutants that could get into soil, microorganisms, and plants as well as finding ways on how to address those issues best.