What This Bill Does
This bill, called the "Zero Food Waste Act," creates a grant program to help reduce food waste by 50 percent by 2030 compared to 2010 levels. The Environmental Protection Agency (the federal agency that protects the environment) will award competitive grants to eligible organizations to study food waste, collect data, and carry out projects that reduce the amount of food waste sent to landfills or burned in incinerators.
Who It Affects
State governments, local governments, territorial governments, tribal governments, nonprofit organizations (tax-exempt groups organized to benefit the public), and partnerships of these entities.
Key Provisions
• The EPA must establish a grant program to award competitive grants for reducing food waste (Sec. 2(a)(1)).
• Organizations can receive grants to study food waste generation in their area and develop plans to carry out at least one food waste reduction activity, with preference given to prevention methods (Sec. 2(a)(3)(A)).
• Organizations can receive grants to collect data on food waste and publish reports on that data monthly or quarterly on a publicly available website (Sec. 2(a)(3)(B)).
• Organizations can receive grants to carry out food waste reduction activities, implement pricing policies that discourage landfill and incineration disposal, provide technical help, restrict food waste disposal methods, or carry out other activities the EPA determines will reduce food waste (Sec. 2(a)(3)(C)).
• For anaerobic digestion projects (breaking down organic material without oxygen to create energy), applicants must submit a plan for reusing the resulting material as soil amendment and can use animal waste for no more than 20 percent of the project's feedstock (Sec. 2(b)(4)).
What Changes
If this bill becomes law, the EPA will begin awarding grants to help states, local governments, tribal governments, and nonprofits fund projects that reduce food waste. These organizations will receive funding to study their food waste problems, collect data, and implement solutions like preventing food waste, rescuing surplus food, composting, or converting food waste into new products.
Important Definitions
• Food waste: Any uneaten food and inedible parts of food (Sec. 2(e)(3)).
• Food waste reduction activity: Any method that reduces food waste sent to landfills or incinerators, including prevention, rescue, upcycling (making new food from ingredients that would otherwise become waste), and recycling (Sec. 2(e)(4)).
• Prevent: To stop food waste from being created (Sec. 2(e)(6)).
• Rescue: To redirect surplus food for people to eat (Sec. 2(e)(8)).
• Recycle: To reuse food waste as raw material for non-food products (Sec. 2(e)(7)).
• Upcycle: To make new food from ingredients that would otherwise become food waste (Sec. 2(e)(10)).
• Source separated organics: Organic waste separated from other waste by the person or business that generated it (Sec. 2(e)(9)).
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 652
To provide grants to reduce the amount of food waste, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 31, 2023
Ms. BROWNLEY (for herself, Ms. KUSTER, and Ms. PINGREE) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To provide grants to reduce the amount of food waste, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Zero Food Waste Act’’.
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SEC. 2. FOOD WASTE REDUCTION GRANTS.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—
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(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall
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establish and carry out a program to award competi-
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tive grants as provided in paragraph (3).
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(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program es-
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tablished under paragraph (1) is to help reduce the
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•HR 652 IH
amount of food waste by 50 percent by 2030, rel-
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ative to such amount in 2010.
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(3) GRANTS.—
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(A) STUDY ON FOOD WASTE GENERATION
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AND FOOD WASTE MANAGEMENT PLANNING.—
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Under the program established under para-
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graph (1), the Administrator may award a
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grant to an eligible entity, excluding any eligible
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entity that is a nonprofit organization, to—
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(i) study—
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(I) the generation of food waste
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in the State or area in which the eligi-
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ble entity is located or otherwise
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serves; and
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(II) policies and programs that
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significantly reduce the amount of
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food waste, including policies and pro-
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grams to carry out food waste reduc-
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tion activities; and
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(ii) develop a plan under which such
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eligible entity will carry out at least one
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food waste reduction activity, prioritizing
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prevention to the extent practicable.
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(B) FOOD WASTE DATA AND REPORTS.—
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Under the program established under para-
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•HR 652 IH
graph (1), the Administrator may award a
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grant to an eligible entity, excluding any eligible
2
entity that is a nonprofit organization, to—
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(i) collect data on the amount of food
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waste generated in the State or area in
5
which the eligible entity is located or other-
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wise serves; and
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(ii) publish, on any publicly available
8
website (which may include the website of
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a nongovernmental organization), a month-
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ly or quarterly report on the data collected
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under clause (i).
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(C)
FOOD
WASTE
REDUCTION
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PROJECTS.—Under the program established
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under paragraph (1), the Administrator may
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award a grant to an eligible entity to—
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(i)(I) carry out or otherwise support a
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food waste reduction activity;
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(II) implement a differential pricing
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policy on the disposal of food waste to—
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(aa) disincentivize disposing of
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food waste by incineration or deposit
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in a landfill; and
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(bb) incentivize carrying out food
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waste reduction activities;
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•HR 652 IH
(III) pay for or provide technical as-
1
sistance to carry out a food waste reduc-
2
tion activity;
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(IV) implement restrictions on dis-
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posing of food waste by incineration or de-
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posit in a landfill;
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(V) implement food waste reduction
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activity requirements;
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(VI) implement demand-stimulating
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policies for recycling end-markets; or
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(VII) carry out any other activity the
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Administrator determines will reduce the
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amount of food waste in the applicable
13
area; and
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(ii) collect data and publish reports as
15
described in subparagraph (B).
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(b) APPLICATIONS.—
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(1) IN GENERAL.—To apply for a grant under
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this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the
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Administrator an application at such time and in
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such form as the Administrator may require, which
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such application shall demonstrate how the eligible
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entity will use the grant in accordance with sub-
23
section (a)(3).
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(2) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.—In the case
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of an application from an eligible entity that is a
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nonprofit organization, the application shall in-
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clude—
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(A) a letter of support for the proposed
5
use of the grant from—
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(i) the relevant local government, ter-
7
ritorial government, Tribal government, or
8
State; or
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(ii) another nonprofit organization
10
that—
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(I) has a demonstrated history of
12
undertaking work in the geographic
13
region where the proposed use of the
14
grant is to take place, as determined
15
by the Administrator; and
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(II) would not be involved in the
17
proposed use of the grant; and
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(B) any other information the Adminis-
19
trator may require.
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(3)
PRIORITIZATION.—In
awarding
grants
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under this section, the Administrator shall—
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(A) seek to award grants for use in diverse
23
locations and for diverse uses; and
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(B) prioritize awarding grants to—
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•HR 652 IH
(i) any eligible entity, excluding any
1
eligible entity that is a nonprofit organiza-
2
tion, that—
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(I) implements a program to
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carry out food waste reduction activi-
5
ties; or
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(II) has a demonstrated need, as
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determined by the Administrator, for
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additional investment in infrastruc-
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ture or other resources to be able to
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implement a program to carry out
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food waste reduction activities; or
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(ii) an eligible entity that will use
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such grant as provided in subsection
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(a)(3)(C)(i) in a community of color, low-
15
income community, or Tribal community
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that has been disproportionately affected
17
by adverse human health or environmental
18
effects.
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(4) ANAEROBIC
DIGESTION
PROJECTS.—With
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respect to any grant awarded under subsection
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(a)(3)(C) to carry out an anaerobic digestion
22
project, the Administrator shall—
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(A) require that the applicant submit a
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plan for end-product recycling that, in accord-
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•HR 652 IH
ance with guidelines the Administrator shall es-
1
tablish—
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(i) provides for the use of the material
3
resulting from the project as a soil amend-
4
ment; and
5
(ii) ensures that the use of the mate-
6
rial resulting from the project does not cre-
7
ate an environmental hazard; and
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(B) require the eligible entity that is car-
9
rying out the project—
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(i) to limit its use of animal waste to
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not more than 20 percent of the total feed-
12
stock of the project; and
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(ii) to only use source separated
14
organics as the portion of the total feed-
15
stock that is not animal waste.
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(c) REPORTING.—
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(1) EFFECT OF USE OF GRANT.—Each eligible
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entity that receives a grant under this section shall
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submit to the Administrator a report, at such time
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and in such form as the Administrator may require,
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on the results of the use of the grant, which such
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report shall include any relevant data requested by
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the Administrator for purposes of tracking the effec-
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•HR 652 IH
tiveness of the program established under subsection
1
(a)(1).
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(2) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Administrator shall
3
submit to Congress and make publicly available on
4
the website of the Environmental Protection Agency
5
an annual report describing—
6
(A) the effectiveness of the program estab-
7
lished under subsection (a)(1) at reducing the
8
amount of food waste by 50 percent by 2030,
9
relative to such amount in 2010, including in-
10
formation on the progress of such reduction;
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and
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(B) how the Administrator is promoting
13
learning among grantees and other stakeholders
14
to better achieve results.
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(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
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authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section
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$650,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2033,
18
to remain available until expended.
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(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act:
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(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis-
21
trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ-
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mental Protection Agency.
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(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti-
24
ty’’ means—
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•HR 652 IH
(A) a State, a local government, a terri-
1
torial government, or a Tribal government;
2
(B) a nonprofit organization; or
3
(C) a partnership of two or more of any of
4
the entities described in subparagraphs (A) and
5
(B).
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(3) FOOD
WASTE.—The term ‘‘food waste’’
7
means any uneaten food and inedible parts of food.
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(4) FOOD WASTE REDUCTION ACTIVITY.—The
9
term ‘‘food waste reduction activity’’ means any
10
method or activity that reduces the amount of food
11
waste disposed of in landfills or incinerated, includ-
12
ing through prevention, rescue, upcycling, and recy-
13
cling.
14
(5) NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATION.—The term
15
‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization that
16
is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev-
17
enue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3)) and is ex-
18
empt from taxation under section 501(a) of such
19
Code.
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(6) PREVENT.—The term ‘‘prevent’’ means to
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forestall the generation of food waste.
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(7) RECYCLE.—The term ‘‘recycle’’ means to
23
reuse food waste as a feedstock for a non-food prod-
24
uct.
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(8) RESCUE.—The term ‘‘rescue’’ means to re-
1
direct surplus food for consumption.
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(9) SOURCE SEPARATED ORGANICS.—
3
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘source sepa-
4
rated organics’’ means organic waste that is
5
separated from other waste by the waste gener-
6
ator.
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(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘source sepa-
8
rated organics’’ includes materials that are cer-
9
tified to meet ASTM standard D6400 or
10
D6868.
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(C) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘source sepa-
12
rated organics’’ excludes mixed solid waste.
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(10) UPCYCLE.—The term ‘‘upcycle’’ means to
14
make new food from ingredients that otherwise
15
would become food waste.
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Æ
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