October 11, 2025 • 14 mins
It's easy to forget about food in the fridge or the cabinets, leading it to go bad. Oftentimes, it just goes right in the trash, and when you add your food waste to everyone else's, plus all the waste from hospitals, restaurants, cafeterias, schools, and other institutions, it adds up fast! Massachusetts has had a commercial food waste ban in place since 2014 to try and cut down on the negative impacts of this food waste, and a new report shows the Commonwealth's efforts are showing success, both economically and environmentally. MassDEP Commissioner Bonnie Heiple returns to the show to break down the report with Nichole and talk about the state's future food waste goals.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend.
Each week we come together right here and talk about
all the topics important to you and the place where
you live. Thanks for joining us again this week. I'm
Nicole Davis. Okay, you know we've all been there. I'm
not gonna judge. When you go to the store and
you're walking around and you're doing your weekly shop and
(00:27):
you see all that's great fresh food, especially it seems
to me, you know, around the turn of the seasons,
and you think, I'm gonna make all this stuff at home,
and I'm gonna cook and I'm gonna eat healthy. It's
gonna be great. And then two weeks later, you've gone
out a bunch of times and ordered door dash a
few times, and you have a lot of dead produce
staring you in the face when you open up the fridge.
(00:47):
When we get to throwing out that food that we
just don't get to for whatever reason, you might compost
some of it, you might use some of it for
your plants, but quite a bit of it actually goes
right to the landfill. You can imagine how much that
actually adds up to when you think about not just
you and me and our neighbors and whatnot. But also
all the restaurants and hotels, cafeterias, nursing homes, supermarkets, we
(01:09):
have all that food adds up quick. Now. That was
a major factor in the state's decision more than ten
years ago to put a commercial food waste ban in place.
A new reports out showing that it's making a huge
impact on so many levels. Let's talk about it now
with Bonnie Hipel. She's been here before. Bonnie is the
commissioner of the state's Department of Environmental Protections. So Bonnie,
(01:30):
thank you for coming back. I want to find out
more about how the state determined I guess that this
was something that we needed, and how they figured out
how to roll this out in the first place.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
This dis Bogo ban applies to food waste, which is
food that is wasted or lost along the way that
really was intended originally for human consumption.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
In the US.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Just to sort of ground truth and set the stage here,
about forty percent of all food that's produced for us
to eat goes onni in and about ninety five percent
of that discarded food ends up in landfills. So this
is a really huge environmental problem. So our food waste
ban in Massachusetts requires that businesses and institutions that generate
(02:14):
more than one half ton of food waste per week
find a way to keep those materials out of landfills.
So we started with this ban a number of years ago.
Originally the threshold was one ton, so we've made it
increasingly stringent over time to bring in more businesses, bring
in more institutions. Now that we really have the market
and the capability for dealing with diverted food waste.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Now, do you find that institutions and businesses are generally
receptive or do you get some pushback when it comes
to this, because at the end of the day, it's
more money and energy and time for them.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Absolutely. I wouldn't say we get pushed back.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
We get questions, Okay, this is something that's new for
a lot of businesses right there in the business of
producing dumplings, or you know, it's a college that feeds
a lot of students, but their primary purpose is education.
So I think, really we've been so successful in Massachusetts
in helping those entities figure out ways to do this
(03:10):
practically on the ground. So we started a program that's
called Recycling Works in Massachusetts that actually goes out on
the ground physically to these locations and works with these companies,
with these institutions to figure out where and their existing
processes are good opportunities for intervention to make sure that
food waste is staying out of the trash.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
That's great. Yeah, I love talking about food rescue. I've
had some food rescue groups on the show before, like
Spoonfuls out in Newton. I am fascinated by the efforts
that they will go to to make sure that food
that some people would say is oh it's outdated, or
it says best Buy, they would just kind of cast
to decide and toss it out. They are making sure
that they are utilizing this to the fullest extent. It
(03:53):
really I think makes you think twice about what is
actually like food gone bad.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
It absolutely does.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
And even you know, food waste can happen at any
point in the food supply chain. So even at a
farm if they don't think they can sell dispatch of
apples because they're too ugly, they're misshapen, something like that.
We've really seen a growth in the amount of food
rescue opportunities, even mailing systems.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Right there's ugly foods, which sends you just produce that's.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Perfectly fine and healthy, but that may not sell on
the traditional grocery store shelf.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
So again, lots of options and just making.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Sure that if we are providing food for human consumption,
that it's healthy, that it's good, lots of other options.
When food is no longer healthy and good, you can
put it in an anaerobic digester, which creates biogas from
food as it decomposes. You can compost it so you're
creating new soil for the next crop, the next season.
(04:50):
So you know, even once food is no longer fit
for human consumption, again, still other options there that keep
food out of the landfill, which is the overarching goal.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Yeah, let's talk about the landfill and methai and gas
and all that, because I remember, many many moons ago,
when I was a child, I was told, you know,
it's not the biggest deal if the food goes in
the trash, because it's going to break down, it's going
to be biodegradable. Clearly, it is not that simple. Tell
us why it is so important that we don't put
all this food waste just in the trash.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
It's certainly important from the perspective of getting it to
the place it's needed most right again, for hungry families
in need, if we can get it there and if.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
The food is still fit for that.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Also, throwing it away in the trash drives up disposal costs.
It uses our very limited landfill capacity here in Massachusetts.
We don't have a lot of space in our existing landfills.
We need to conserve that for things that truly have
no other use. As you point out, it's also a
climate issue. So the food does break down, it does biodegrade,
but as it does that, it creates methane, which is
(05:52):
one of our most potent greenhouse gases.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
We have actually seen.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
We've measured that by virtue of this food waste spin
in massachu sets, we've slashed methane emissions from food waste
by more than a quarter, So we reduce by more
than twenty five percent. That's really potent greenhouse gas that's
going into our atmosphere and contributing to climate change.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Yeah, clearly we've been doing pretty well on several levels here.
Because we have this new report that came out recently,
it shows that not only environmentally has this effort been
good it's been good for job growth, it's been good
for commercial activity. Kind of break down this report for
us if you couldn't tell us about some of these findings.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Absolutely, So alongside the education and awareness that we've really
tried to foster and support with these food waste disposal bands,
we've also been investing. So we've been investing really thoughtfully,
helping organizations like Spoonfuls that does the food recovery, helping
municipalities build out their capabilities to be part of this food.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Reuse and upcycling ecosystem.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
We're seeing some really significant positive environmental and economic impacts
from all of this.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
So there was a June twenty.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Twenty five independent analysis that really confirmed what we've long
known that this food wastepan is good for business. We
it estimated, which is a pretty stunning number, almost seventeen
hundred new jobs associated with this food waste span over
the last decade or so since it's been in place,
about one hundred and forty three million dollars in labor income,
(07:26):
three hundred and ninety million dollars in industry activity. So
we're really seeing a tremendous market spring up to meet
this need that if we're saying, you know, it's a ban, right,
so you can't do one thing, but there are so
many other things you can do, and businesses are flocking
in to fill that need and.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Fill that gap.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Yeah, and renewable energy is big here too. And of course,
as you were talking about a little bit earlier, you've
got the anaerobic digesters. What do they call it? Is
that the correct term for them? More?
Speaker 2 (07:55):
It is?
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Yes, okay, anaerobic digesters. I'm not a scientist, so work
with me here. Sorry, but you know you've gotten methods
where you can turn this food waste into something that
we can use. Tell me a little bit more about
how all these efforts are making the state or helping
the stake get closer to its goals on renewable energy.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
So the biogas anaerobic digestion is basically you've seen them
maybe along highways or along the waterfront. These they're often
egg shaped, and these little bugs that eat they thrive
on bacteria and other things that are in materials like
food waste. So you're feeding the digester with things like
(08:35):
food waste. It's creating biogas, which can help keep the
lights on, you know, it's something that can actually be
a closed loop system.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
If there's a big.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Grocery store right there that's diverting the food that would
otherwise be wasted and thrown into the landfill at the
grocery store.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
I've seen it live here in Massachusetts. They feed the digest.
The digester is.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Cutting their energy bills, so they're no longer reliant on,
you know, fossil fuels.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
They have a clothes sloop system.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
It's really cost effective for these facilities over time and
helping with our over overall energy mix and energy needs.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Well, then let's talk about this big goal that the
state has you all by twenty thirty, Well, we all
because we all live here. There's a big goal of
diverting seven hundred and eighty thousand tons of food waste
each year. Where are we now in twenty twenty five,
trying to make our way toward that goal.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
We are diverting about four hundred thousand tons of food
waste sitting here right now, which is a really tremendous
growth since we started this program a number of years ago.
We were at about one hundred thousand tons at that point,
and all of this investment and education and building these
markets has really allowed us to see tremendous growth, So
(09:47):
we feel good about meeting that goal.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
I will say we still.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Throw away nearly one million tons of food in the
trash per year, so we have a ways to go.
And we also have a challenging dynamic in that as
the economy grows, food waste tends to grow as well,
So there's a relationship between those two things. So ironically,
as we're growing as a state, as we're open for business,
(10:13):
as we're welcoming in these great new economic opportunities, that
makes it harder for us to meet these food waste goals.
So we really need to double down on these efforts
to continue our positive growth over time.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Yeah, how are you planning on meeting that goal at
this point? Do you have any new ideas or have
you evolved your plan? I guess you could say, as
we try to push forward in the next five years.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Absolutely, we lowered the threshold for that food waste ban
just a few years ago, so we're really continuing now
with our outreach and education to make sure that the
entities that are newly covered by that ban are aware
of it and that they know what to do to comply,
so sending out recycling works or providing other resources to
(10:55):
get folks up and running and make sure that they're
able to do this diversion at the facility. We also
are continuing to invest, so we have a number of
different types of grants here at NSSDP where we are
supporting businesses at all levels. So we have a micro
grant program for new startup type businesses, supporting municipalities, we
(11:19):
have a Municipal Assistance grant program, and really just being
thoughtful about where we're injecting that capital to make sure
that we are again are fostering this whole ecosystem. We
don't want to ban something and not have municipalities or
individuals or businesses have anything to do with it, right,
We don't want to create a problem for people. We
understand that if we make this easy, we make this
(11:41):
efficient and ultimately a money saver for businesses. This is
something that people are naturally going to evolve and do
on their own.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Well, then individuals listening to this right now, because we
might not all obviously own a business or a restaurant,
but this is a lofty goal and if somebody is listening,
how can they individually help the state get to that
food diversion goal. Do you recommend composting, do you recommend
taking the food somewhere? How can people individually help?
Speaker 3 (12:07):
Absolutely, composting is a great option.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
We do have some resources online on how to compost
properly so that you're not creating something that's smelly, that's messy.
We're also seeing increasingly curbside collection or municipal collection for
residential food waste.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
So we have in the city of.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Boston they're doing a great program where you get a
little green bin and you may see them out on
the sidewalk in Boston and other cities in towns, and
you put your food waste in there. It's incredible how
much food waste you can generate, even if you are
really thoughtful about it. There's some just natural things, right
that are always going to be discarded. A corn husk,
(12:47):
a corn cob, something like that. Yeah, but there's some
a bit that you know, you have the best of
intentions and then by the end of the week hasn't
been used. So just being thoughtful about what you're buying
in the first place, being creative about using that stuff,
make a soup, make something you know to use up
the vegetables that you bought at the beginning of the week,
and then encouraging your city or town to adopt one
(13:10):
of these programs that we at the state level are
really trying to grow and support to collect this food
waste not only from businesses, but growing you know, to
our residents as well.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Okay, well, somebody wants to find out more about this report.
They want to find out more about your efforts on
the food ban and just a diverting food waste in general.
How can people connect with your department?
Speaker 2 (13:32):
So we have great resources on our mass EP website,
which also connects to recycling works and these other There
are a tremendous amount of technical resources, easy to use,
residential resources, and information about our grant programs. We're also
always available, so pick up the phone if you're not
finding what you need online. Really a big piece of
(13:52):
this is education, so not only being available to folks
who have questions, but we're in the schools talking to
kids about this right happens right there, of course, and
we want kids to sort of grow up with this
where it's a natural thing that you know, as you're
working your way down the cafeteria line, You're not just
throwing out an uneat and apple. You can put that
(14:12):
somewhere at the end of the cafeteria line where it
gets washed and used for something else. So really ingraining
it early and reinforcing that over time.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
All right, Commissioner, thanks so much for the time.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
Thank you so much. We appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
I hope you have a safe and happy and healthy
holiday weekend. Please be sure to tune in again next
week for another edition of the show. I'm Nicole Davis
from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio.
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend.
Each week we come together right here and talk about
all the topics important to you and the place where
you live. Thanks for joining us again this week. I'm
Nicole Davis. Okay, you know we've all been there. I'm
not gonna judge. When you go to the store and
you're walking around and you're doing your weekly shop and
(00:27):
you see all that's great fresh food, especially it seems
to me, you know, around the turn of the seasons,
and you think, I'm gonna make all this stuff at home,
and I'm gonna cook and I'm gonna eat healthy. It's
gonna be great. And then two weeks later, you've gone
out a bunch of times and ordered door dash a
few times, and you have a lot of dead produce
staring you in the face when you open up the fridge.
(00:47):
When we get to throwing out that food that we
just don't get to for whatever reason, you might compost
some of it, you might use some of it for
your plants, but quite a bit of it actually goes
right to the landfill. You can imagine how much that
actually adds up to when you think about not just
you and me and our neighbors and whatnot. But also
all the restaurants and hotels, cafeterias, nursing homes, supermarkets, we
(01:09):
have all that food adds up quick. Now. That was
a major factor in the state's decision more than ten
years ago to put a commercial food waste ban in place.
A new reports out showing that it's making a huge
impact on so many levels. Let's talk about it now
with Bonnie Hipel. She's been here before. Bonnie is the
commissioner of the state's Department of Environmental Protections. So Bonnie,
(01:30):
thank you for coming back. I want to find out
more about how the state determined I guess that this
was something that we needed, and how they figured out
how to roll this out in the first place.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
This dis Bogo ban applies to food waste, which is
food that is wasted or lost along the way that
really was intended originally for human consumption.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
In the US.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Just to sort of ground truth and set the stage here,
about forty percent of all food that's produced for us
to eat goes onni in and about ninety five percent
of that discarded food ends up in landfills. So this
is a really huge environmental problem. So our food waste
ban in Massachusetts requires that businesses and institutions that generate
(02:14):
more than one half ton of food waste per week
find a way to keep those materials out of landfills.
So we started with this ban a number of years ago.
Originally the threshold was one ton, so we've made it
increasingly stringent over time to bring in more businesses, bring
in more institutions. Now that we really have the market
and the capability for dealing with diverted food waste.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Now, do you find that institutions and businesses are generally
receptive or do you get some pushback when it comes
to this, because at the end of the day, it's
more money and energy and time for them.
Speaker 3 (02:46):
Absolutely. I wouldn't say we get pushed back.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
We get questions, Okay, this is something that's new for
a lot of businesses right there in the business of
producing dumplings, or you know, it's a college that feeds
a lot of students, but their primary purpose is education.
So I think, really we've been so successful in Massachusetts
in helping those entities figure out ways to do this
(03:10):
practically on the ground. So we started a program that's
called Recycling Works in Massachusetts that actually goes out on
the ground physically to these locations and works with these companies,
with these institutions to figure out where and their existing
processes are good opportunities for intervention to make sure that
food waste is staying out of the trash.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
That's great. Yeah, I love talking about food rescue. I've
had some food rescue groups on the show before, like
Spoonfuls out in Newton. I am fascinated by the efforts
that they will go to to make sure that food
that some people would say is oh it's outdated, or
it says best Buy, they would just kind of cast
to decide and toss it out. They are making sure
that they are utilizing this to the fullest extent. It
(03:53):
really I think makes you think twice about what is
actually like food gone bad.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
It absolutely does.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
And even you know, food waste can happen at any
point in the food supply chain. So even at a
farm if they don't think they can sell dispatch of
apples because they're too ugly, they're misshapen, something like that.
We've really seen a growth in the amount of food
rescue opportunities, even mailing systems.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
Right there's ugly foods, which sends you just produce that's.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Perfectly fine and healthy, but that may not sell on
the traditional grocery store shelf.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
So again, lots of options and just making.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Sure that if we are providing food for human consumption,
that it's healthy, that it's good, lots of other options.
When food is no longer healthy and good, you can
put it in an anaerobic digester, which creates biogas from
food as it decomposes. You can compost it so you're
creating new soil for the next crop, the next season.
(04:50):
So you know, even once food is no longer fit
for human consumption, again, still other options there that keep
food out of the landfill, which is the overarching goal.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Yeah, let's talk about the landfill and methai and gas
and all that, because I remember, many many moons ago,
when I was a child, I was told, you know,
it's not the biggest deal if the food goes in
the trash, because it's going to break down, it's going
to be biodegradable. Clearly, it is not that simple. Tell
us why it is so important that we don't put
all this food waste just in the trash.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
It's certainly important from the perspective of getting it to
the place it's needed most right again, for hungry families
in need, if we can get it there and if.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
The food is still fit for that.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Also, throwing it away in the trash drives up disposal costs.
It uses our very limited landfill capacity here in Massachusetts.
We don't have a lot of space in our existing landfills.
We need to conserve that for things that truly have
no other use. As you point out, it's also a
climate issue. So the food does break down, it does biodegrade,
but as it does that, it creates methane, which is
(05:52):
one of our most potent greenhouse gases.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
We have actually seen.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
We've measured that by virtue of this food waste spin
in massachu sets, we've slashed methane emissions from food waste
by more than a quarter, So we reduce by more
than twenty five percent. That's really potent greenhouse gas that's
going into our atmosphere and contributing to climate change.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Yeah, clearly we've been doing pretty well on several levels here.
Because we have this new report that came out recently,
it shows that not only environmentally has this effort been
good it's been good for job growth, it's been good
for commercial activity. Kind of break down this report for
us if you couldn't tell us about some of these findings.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Absolutely, So alongside the education and awareness that we've really
tried to foster and support with these food waste disposal bands,
we've also been investing. So we've been investing really thoughtfully,
helping organizations like Spoonfuls that does the food recovery, helping
municipalities build out their capabilities to be part of this food.
Speaker 3 (06:50):
Reuse and upcycling ecosystem.
Speaker 2 (06:53):
We're seeing some really significant positive environmental and economic impacts
from all of this.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
So there was a June twenty.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Twenty five independent analysis that really confirmed what we've long
known that this food wastepan is good for business. We
it estimated, which is a pretty stunning number, almost seventeen
hundred new jobs associated with this food waste span over
the last decade or so since it's been in place,
about one hundred and forty three million dollars in labor income,
(07:26):
three hundred and ninety million dollars in industry activity. So
we're really seeing a tremendous market spring up to meet
this need that if we're saying, you know, it's a ban, right,
so you can't do one thing, but there are so
many other things you can do, and businesses are flocking
in to fill that need and.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Fill that gap.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Yeah, and renewable energy is big here too. And of course,
as you were talking about a little bit earlier, you've
got the anaerobic digesters. What do they call it? Is
that the correct term for them? More?
Speaker 2 (07:55):
It is?
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Yes, okay, anaerobic digesters. I'm not a scientist, so work
with me here. Sorry, but you know you've gotten methods
where you can turn this food waste into something that
we can use. Tell me a little bit more about
how all these efforts are making the state or helping
the stake get closer to its goals on renewable energy.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
So the biogas anaerobic digestion is basically you've seen them
maybe along highways or along the waterfront. These they're often
egg shaped, and these little bugs that eat they thrive
on bacteria and other things that are in materials like
food waste. So you're feeding the digester with things like
(08:35):
food waste. It's creating biogas, which can help keep the
lights on, you know, it's something that can actually be
a closed loop system.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
If there's a big.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Grocery store right there that's diverting the food that would
otherwise be wasted and thrown into the landfill at the
grocery store.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
I've seen it live here in Massachusetts. They feed the digest.
The digester is.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
Cutting their energy bills, so they're no longer reliant on,
you know, fossil fuels.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
They have a clothes sloop system.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
It's really cost effective for these facilities over time and
helping with our over overall energy mix and energy needs.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Well, then let's talk about this big goal that the
state has you all by twenty thirty, Well, we all
because we all live here. There's a big goal of
diverting seven hundred and eighty thousand tons of food waste
each year. Where are we now in twenty twenty five,
trying to make our way toward that goal.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
We are diverting about four hundred thousand tons of food
waste sitting here right now, which is a really tremendous
growth since we started this program a number of years ago.
We were at about one hundred thousand tons at that point,
and all of this investment and education and building these
markets has really allowed us to see tremendous growth, So
(09:47):
we feel good about meeting that goal.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
I will say we still.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Throw away nearly one million tons of food in the
trash per year, so we have a ways to go.
And we also have a challenging dynamic in that as
the economy grows, food waste tends to grow as well,
So there's a relationship between those two things. So ironically,
as we're growing as a state, as we're open for business,
(10:13):
as we're welcoming in these great new economic opportunities, that
makes it harder for us to meet these food waste goals.
So we really need to double down on these efforts
to continue our positive growth over time.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Yeah, how are you planning on meeting that goal at
this point? Do you have any new ideas or have
you evolved your plan? I guess you could say, as
we try to push forward in the next five years.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Absolutely, we lowered the threshold for that food waste ban
just a few years ago, so we're really continuing now
with our outreach and education to make sure that the
entities that are newly covered by that ban are aware
of it and that they know what to do to comply,
so sending out recycling works or providing other resources to
(10:55):
get folks up and running and make sure that they're
able to do this diversion at the facility. We also
are continuing to invest, so we have a number of
different types of grants here at NSSDP where we are
supporting businesses at all levels. So we have a micro
grant program for new startup type businesses, supporting municipalities, we
(11:19):
have a Municipal Assistance grant program, and really just being
thoughtful about where we're injecting that capital to make sure
that we are again are fostering this whole ecosystem. We
don't want to ban something and not have municipalities or
individuals or businesses have anything to do with it, right,
We don't want to create a problem for people. We
understand that if we make this easy, we make this
(11:41):
efficient and ultimately a money saver for businesses. This is
something that people are naturally going to evolve and do
on their own.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Well, then individuals listening to this right now, because we
might not all obviously own a business or a restaurant,
but this is a lofty goal and if somebody is listening,
how can they individually help the state get to that
food diversion goal. Do you recommend composting, do you recommend
taking the food somewhere? How can people individually help?
Speaker 3 (12:07):
Absolutely, composting is a great option.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
We do have some resources online on how to compost
properly so that you're not creating something that's smelly, that's messy.
We're also seeing increasingly curbside collection or municipal collection for
residential food waste.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
So we have in the city of.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
Boston they're doing a great program where you get a
little green bin and you may see them out on
the sidewalk in Boston and other cities in towns, and
you put your food waste in there. It's incredible how
much food waste you can generate, even if you are
really thoughtful about it. There's some just natural things, right
that are always going to be discarded. A corn husk,
(12:47):
a corn cob, something like that. Yeah, but there's some
a bit that you know, you have the best of
intentions and then by the end of the week hasn't
been used. So just being thoughtful about what you're buying
in the first place, being creative about using that stuff,
make a soup, make something you know to use up
the vegetables that you bought at the beginning of the week,
and then encouraging your city or town to adopt one
(13:10):
of these programs that we at the state level are
really trying to grow and support to collect this food
waste not only from businesses, but growing you know, to
our residents as well.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Okay, well, somebody wants to find out more about this report.
They want to find out more about your efforts on
the food ban and just a diverting food waste in general.
How can people connect with your department?
Speaker 2 (13:32):
So we have great resources on our mass EP website,
which also connects to recycling works and these other There
are a tremendous amount of technical resources, easy to use,
residential resources, and information about our grant programs. We're also
always available, so pick up the phone if you're not
finding what you need online. Really a big piece of
(13:52):
this is education, so not only being available to folks
who have questions, but we're in the schools talking to
kids about this right happens right there, of course, and
we want kids to sort of grow up with this
where it's a natural thing that you know, as you're
working your way down the cafeteria line, You're not just
throwing out an uneat and apple. You can put that
(14:12):
somewhere at the end of the cafeteria line where it
gets washed and used for something else. So really ingraining
it early and reinforcing that over time.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
All right, Commissioner, thanks so much for the time.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
Thank you so much. We appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
I hope you have a safe and happy and healthy
holiday weekend. Please be sure to tune in again next
week for another edition of the show. I'm Nicole Davis
from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio.
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