Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released two new reports quantifying methane emissions from landfilled food waste and updating recommendations for managing wasted food. Over one-third of the food produced in the United States is never eaten, wasting the resources used to produce, transport, process, and distribute it – and much of it is sent to landfills, where it breaks down and generates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
Thanks to the advocacy of USCC and others, on November 1 Congress passed a mini-omnibus spending bill that restored funding for The Office of Urban Agriculture and the grants it supports. The Senate passed the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act which included $8.5M for the Office of Urban Agriculture.
USCC and many other advocacy organizations reached out to their Congressional representatives in (including Community Compost Grants!) to advocate for this. Thank you to the 287 people who reached out to your Congressional office to urge restoration of the funding. The $50M which we and other organizations asked for was not funded, however, and we will continue to advocate for more funding for these programs.
The Office of Urban Agriculture was originally created in the 2018 Farm Bill.
More Information:
For More Advocacy News, see our Advocacy Website!
Sunshine Compost received a $4.9 million grant from the USDA to expand its composting efforts.
Source - First Coast News
FORCE staff completed the2023 update to the FORCE Organics Recycling Facility Maps Page that depicts the following facilities registered or permitted in Florida: 1) yard trash recycling, 2) manure blending and composting, 3) animal by product and composting, 4) vegetative food waste composting, 5) biosolids composting and 6) anaerobic digester facilities located throughout the state. Information is provided for each facility that covers the following: address, contact name, phone # and email, and website (where available); type of facility; materials accepted, and whether products are available for purchase and if material is accepted from the public. To explore the interactive page, please visit www.floridaforce.org/facilities/. Since 2001, FORCE has served as a clearinghouse for historical and current information for Florida’s agricultural, public, private and institutional sectors fostering organics recycling business throughout Florida. Miriam ZimmsFORCE Technical Managerwww.floridaforce.org
BioCycle Nationwide Survey: Full-Scale Food Waste Composting Infrastructure In The U.S. “BioCycle, in collaboration with the Composting Consortium, recently completed a survey to quantify and analyze facilities in the U.S. that compost food waste along with other source separated organics. Part I.” Read more at the source -https://www.biocycle.net/us-food-waste-composting-infrastructure/
In follow-up to the request from Karen Moore, Environmental Administrator for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) at the FLCC conference in June, to provide the industry changes that we would like to see made to 62-709; we are utilizing the September 11th FLCC Advocacy Committee Meeting to begin to discuss the process and format to come together as an industry and develop our recommended changes to 62-709. I will be working with Levin Gaston of Gaston Tree Service and our Advocacy Committee to establish a process to solicit, discuss and finalize our list of recommended changes to 62-709 to provide to Karen and the FDEP. Call to Action Please get involved by sharing your interest via this survey link -https://tinyurl.com/9kw8r5n7; and we will be sure to provide you with the link for theSeptember 11th Advocacy Committee Meeting, that will be held at 3:30 p.m.via Zoom. We need our entire composting industry in the State of Florida to get involved in this, and this is another great reason for non-members to join the FLCC and get involved! If you’re not a member of the FLCC, take the time to join today by clicking here. Together we can make things happen in the State of Florida to advance the composting industry and expand infrastructure and markets! Regards, Chris Snow, FLCC Chapter Affiliate DirectorVice President of Corporate OperationsVeransa, Inc.
Drought and Fire Remediation Webinar August 29th 2pm ET $19 USCC Member/$29 Non-member While compost's ability to sequester carbon and mitigate climate change is often touted, the effects of climate change are already here and compost also has a role in helping us adapt. In this webinar hosted by the Compost Research & Education Foundation (CREF) and presented by Dr. David Crohn and Dr. Craig Kolodge, we'll explore how compost can serve as a vital tool that helps us recover from wildfires and cultivate drought-resilient soils. Click here to read more.
Research will examine a method to keep carbon from escaping soils and trapping heat in Earth’s atmosphere.
Source - Morningagclips.com
When Levy County residents became aware of manure-composting facilities coming to their community, they knew they had two options.
Source - Vero News
The workshop, offered both in-person and virtual formats, will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center (3205 College Ave., Davie, 33314). Advance registration is required. In-person registration includes lunch at a cost of $50, and the registration to participate virtually is $25. Please use this link to registerhttps://UniversityofFloridaCompostWorkshop.eventbrite.com.
EPA’s Excess Food Opportunities Map, first released in 2018, displays facility-specific information for potential generators and recipients of excess food in the industrial, commercial and institutional sectors, including estimates of excess food for most generators. The map is a useful resource allowing businesses, organizations, and governments to make connections and find opportunities to make the best use of their excess food. It can be used to inform waste management and food recovery decisions at the local level, as well as to identify potential sources of organic feedstocks, infrastructure gaps and alternatives to landfilling.
These grants cover a wide variety of topics and eligible entities. Total anticipated funding for FY2024 is $300 million. The 2023 RFA for AFRI’s Foundational and Applied Science Program identifies the following priority program areas, some of which include food waste reduction as a sub-topic and/or eligible initiative: Plant health and production and plant products;
Animal health and production and animal products;
Food safety, nutrition, and health;
Bioenergy, natural resources, and environment;
Agriculture systems and technology; and
Agriculture economics and rural communities. Check out the 2023 RFA for Foundational and Applied Science Program. Application deadlines: August through November 2023, depending on program area. Access the USDA-AFRI deadlines page or the RFA for specific deadlines for applications depending on program area. Applications for Phase I funding are due August 23, 2023. Read more about this and other opportunities of interest at the source - August 2023 In The Loop with EPA
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.