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Bloomberg set to roll out New York composting plan for food waste
June 17, 2013
Bloomberg set to roll out New York composting plan for food waste
The mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, is preparing to roll out a new composting plan for the city, aimed at diverting some of the 100,000 tons of food scraps that ends up in landfill every year.
The city has hired a composting plant to handle up to 100,000 tons of food scraps a year ? or about 10% of the city’s total food waste, according to the New York Times, which first reported the story. Last April, about 100 city restaurants joined a voluntary composting plan, the food waste challenge. By next year, 150,000 households will be on board along with 100 high-rise buildings and 600 schools. The entire city could be recycling food scraps by 2015 or 2016.
The composting program will at first be voluntary. But a city official told the Times that after a few years, New Yorkers who do not separate out their food scraps could be liable to fines ? just as they would be now if they do not recycle paper, plastic or metal. The composting plan will make up a big part of New York’s efforts to divert up to 75% of its solid waste from landfills by 2030. Reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfills also reduces greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. Food waste from all sources makes up about a third of the 20,000 tons of trash the city generates everyday.
Read more at The Guardian.
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