Compost, planting mixes and manure are now exempt from the state’s sales tax as part of changes to the miscellaneous tax law, Act 148, which took effect Tuesday.
These exemptions apply to clean, high-carbon bulking agents, such as wood chips, which are used for commercial and farm composting and energy production. Compost, animal manure, manipulated animal manure and planting mix are also tax exempt when sold in bulk, according to the law.
The law defines the term “sold in bulk” as not pre-packaged or sold in a packaged form in volumes greater than one cubic yard.
The Composting Association of Vermont said in a statement Tuesday the exemptions will support the state’s implementation of the first phase of its Universal Recycling Law.
The recycling law took effect Tuesday and requires large food waste producers that create more than 104 tons of food scraps per year to divert that material from the state’s landfill if a composting facility is located within a 20-mile radius. By 2020, all food waste, leaf and yard debris and other organics will be banned from the landfill under the law.
