A map released by the Agency of Natural Resources on Thursday is designed to make recycling and composting easier under Vermont’s new mandatory recycling law.
The map includes the locations of a wide range of facilities that process food waste, recyclables, compost and trash. The map was created to help residents and businesses coordinate services as part of Vermont’s Universal Recycling law, the first phase of which took effect July 1.
Large food waste producers are now required to divert food scraps from the state’s landfill if a certified composting facility is located within 20 miles. The map includes the locations of the state’s food waste generators – and the amount of waste they produce – and shows composting facilities.
Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Deb Markowitz said removing food scraps from the waste stream is a high priority.
“These materials account for nearly 30 percent of what we throw out, wasting limited landfill space; and as the waste breaks down it produces greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change,” she said in a statement on Thursday.
She said the map makes it easier for businesses and institutions to identify available alternatives to disposal. It connects food-producing businesses and institutions with food rescue organizations, solid waste haulers and facility managers, she said.
The law will ban all food scraps, compostable materials – like leaf and yard debris – and recyclables from the landfill by 2020. Next year, glass, metal, paper, certain plastics and other recyclables will be banned from the landfill.