Organics Diversion and Food Waste Laws by State

There is no federal law that requires food scraps or other organics to be kept out of landfills in the United States. The rules come from the states, and as of October 2026 at least nine states have a law that either bans food waste from disposal, requires large generators to recycle it, or requires local governments to collect it. Most of these laws only bind a generator when a permitted composting or digestion facility is close enough, which makes processing capacity the thing that decides how far each law actually reaches.

Key takeaways

  • State organics laws come in three types: disposal bans, generator recycling mandates with a tonnage threshold, and collection mandates placed on local governments.
  • Thresholds have been falling. Connecticut went from 104 tons a year to 26, New York drops from two tons a week to one in 2027 and to half a ton in 2029, and Vermont now covers any amount.
  • Five of the nine laws below include a distance trigger (15 to 30 miles today, 50 miles in New York from 2027). A generator is covered only when a facility with capacity is inside that distance.
  • That design means every new compost facility changes who has to comply. Planners and developers should map generators inside the radius before sizing a site.
  • Everything here is a summary as of October 2026. Read the linked state page before you act.

The three kinds of organics law

It helps to sort the laws by who carries the duty.

Disposal bans make it unlawful to put the material in the trash. Vermont’s Universal Recycling Law applies to every household and business. Massachusetts bans disposal of food material from larger commercial generators.

Generator mandates require businesses and institutions above a size threshold to separate food scraps and send them to a recycler. Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Maryland all use this model, and all five attach a distance condition.

Jurisdiction mandates put the duty on cities and counties to offer or require collection for residents and businesses. California’s SB 1383 and Washington’s organics management laws work this way, and both also set statewide reduction targets.

State-by-state table (as of October 2026)

Only states verified on the state’s own agency or legislature pages are listed. Other states and many cities have their own rules.

State Law Who is covered Threshold and distance Key dates
California SB 1383 All jurisdictions, residents and businesses; food donors No tonnage threshold for collection Statewide targets set for 2025
Vermont Universal Recycling Law (Act 148), 10 V.S.A. section 6605k Everyone Any amount Phased from July 1, 2014; any amount from July 1, 2020
Massachusetts Commercial food material disposal ban Businesses and institutions Half a ton or more a week One ton from October 1, 2014; half a ton from November 1, 2022
Connecticut Commercial Organics Recycling Law Named commercial sectors; institutions; K-12 schools 26 tons a year, within 20 miles of an authorized facility 2014, 2020, 2022; institutions January 1, 2025; schools July 1, 2026
Rhode Island R.I. Gen. Laws section 23-18.9-17 Covered entities and educational institutions 104 tons a year (lower for education), within 15 miles January 1, 2016; 2018; 2023
New York Food Donation and Food Scraps Recycling Law Large generators outside New York City Two tons a week, within 25 miles January 1, 2022; lower thresholds 2027 and 2029
New Jersey Food Waste Recycling Law, P.L. 2020, c.24 Large food waste generators 52 tons a year, within 25 road miles Approved April 14, 2020; duty began 18 months later
Maryland HB 264 (2021), COMAR 26.04.13 Large food residual generators One ton a week, within 30 miles Two tons January 1, 2023; one ton January 1, 2024
Washington HB 1799 (2022), HB 2301 (2024), HB 1497 (2025) Businesses in designated areas; cities and counties 96 gallons a week for businesses January 2026; April 1, 2027; April 1, 2030

West Coast: collection mandates and statewide targets

California

SB 1383 is an organics diversion and procurement law run by CalRecycle, not an air rule. CalRecycle’s SB 1383 overview states the 2025 targets as 75 percent less organic waste sent to landfills and 20 percent of unsold, still-edible food sent to food recovery organizations, and says all jurisdictions need to provide organic waste collection services to all residents and businesses. Counties also lead capacity planning: each jurisdiction estimates its organic waste disposal, identifies verifiably available capacity inside and outside the county, and submits an implementation schedule to CalRecycle if it comes up short. See our list of key California SB 1383 requirements for the detail.

Washington

The Washington Department of Ecology’s organics management laws page describes three acts (2022, 2024 and 2025) aimed at a 2030 goal of removing 75 percent of the organic materials in the state’s landfills. As of January 2026, a business in a Business Organics Management Area that generates 96 gallons or more of organic waste a week must keep it out of the trash. By April 1, 2027, cities and counties in an Organics Recycling Collection Area must make year-round organics collection available to residential customers (except multifamily) and to non-residential customers producing more than 0.25 cubic yards a week. From April 1, 2030, that service becomes non-elective for customers other than multifamily residences. Ecology also says local solid waste management plans must include siting for new or expanded organics facilities.

Northeast: bans and generator thresholds

Vermont

Vermont phased in its ban by generator size. 10 V.S.A. section 6605k set the threshold at 104 tons a year from July 1, 2014, then 52 tons (2015), 26 tons (2016) and 18 tons (2017), and any amount from July 1, 2020. The same section ranks the options: source reduction first, then feeding people, then agricultural use, then composting, land application and digestion, then energy recovery. The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation’s Universal Recycling page adds that trash haulers must offer food scrap pickup to nonresidential customers and to apartment buildings with four or more units, unless another hauler will provide the service.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts bans the disposal of food material from larger commercial generators. MassDEP’s Commercial Food Material Disposal Ban page says the ban has applied since October 1, 2014, to businesses and institutions that generate one ton or more of these materials a week, and that the threshold has been a half ton or more a week since November 1, 2022. The ban sits in the state’s solid waste facility regulations, 310 CMR 19.000.

Connecticut

The Connecticut DEEP Commercial Organics Recycling Law page lists the covered sectors as commercial food wholesalers and distributors, industrial food manufacturers, supermarkets, resorts and conference centers. The threshold fell from 104 tons a year in 2014 to 52 tons in 2020 and 26 tons in 2022. Institutions such as hospitals, higher education and correctional facilities were added on January 1, 2025, and K-12 schools on July 1, 2026. A generator is covered when it is within 20 miles of an authorized composting facility.

Rhode Island

R.I. Gen. Laws section 23-18.9-17 has required covered entities and covered educational institutions generating at least 104 tons of organic waste a year to recycle it since January 1, 2016, where an authorized composting or anaerobic digestion facility with available capacity is within 15 miles. The threshold for covered educational institutions dropped to 52 tons a year on January 1, 2018, and educational entities generating at least 30 tons a year were added on January 1, 2023.

New York

The New York DEC’s Food Donation and Food Scraps Recycling Law page says that since January 1, 2022, businesses and institutions generating an annual average of two tons of wasted food a week or more must donate excess edible food, and must recycle the remaining food scraps if they are within 25 miles of an organics recycler. The law is scheduled to widen: from January 1, 2027, the threshold drops to one ton a week and the distance grows to 50 miles, and from January 1, 2029, the threshold drops to half a ton a week. New York City, hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities and K-12 schools are excluded from the state law.

New Jersey

New Jersey’s P.L. 2020, c.24 defines a large food waste generator as one of a list of business and institution types (from food wholesalers and supermarkets to restaurants, hospitals and casinos) that produces at least 52 tons of food waste a year. Each location within 25 road miles of an authorized food waste recycling facility must source separate its food waste and send it to an authorized facility that has capacity and will accept it. The act was approved April 14, 2020, and the duty began 18 months after it took effect. A generator can petition for a waiver if recycling would cost at least 10 percent more than disposal.

Maryland

Maryland’s food residuals diversion law, enacted by HB 264 in 2021, is codified at Environment Article section 9-1724.1. It applied from January 1, 2023, to a covered person generating at least two tons of food residuals a week, and from January 1, 2024, to one generating at least one ton a week. The duty applies only at a location within a 30-mile radius of an organics recycling facility that has the capacity and is willing to accept the material. The Maryland Department of the Environment’s food residuals page points to the implementing rules in COMAR 26.04.13.

What the distance triggers mean for processing capacity

In Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Maryland, the law is switched on by infrastructure. A supermarket 40 miles from the nearest composter may have no duty today. When a facility opens 10 miles away, it does.

  1. Permitted capacity creates its own supply. A facility that opens in an underserved area brings every large generator within the radius under the mandate.
  2. Capacity has to be real. Rhode Island, New Jersey and Maryland all condition the duty on a facility with capacity to take the material. A facility that is full does not create a duty for its neighbors.
  3. Falling thresholds add smaller, more scattered generators. New York’s 2027 step halves the threshold and doubles the distance.

Planning steps for a jurisdiction or facility developer

  1. Read the current statute and agency page. Note the threshold, the distance trigger, exemptions and the next scheduled change.
  2. List covered generators inside the radius of the proposed site and estimate weekly tons by season.
  3. Separate food waste from yard trimmings in the forecast. Food waste is wetter and denser, and it drives the process design.
  4. Check which processing methods your state counts as authorized recycling, and what permits each needs.
  5. Match technology to feedstock and site, starting with our comparison of windrow, ASP and in-vessel composting and the list of food waste composting systems for municipalities.
  6. Line up funding early, using the current grants for organics infrastructure list.
  7. Phase the build so a first module can serve the earliest covered generators.

Where covered composting fits

Food waste mandates tend to bring facilities closer to people, and wet, nitrogen-rich loads raise the stakes for odor, leachate and vectors. Sustainable Generation supplies covered ASP systems that use the GORE® Cover with positive aeration controlled by oxygen and temperature feedback, with no building and no biofilter; its How It Works page explains the process.

Two SG projects show the connection to state law. In Maryland, SG’s profile of the Prince George’s County organics composting facility says the county needed a way to compost food waste as well as green waste, tested a mobile system first, then expanded. In California, SG describes Kern County’s Shafter-Wasco Compost Facility as a county project built to help meet SB 1383 diversion mandates. Covered ASP is not the only answer: turned windrows remain a sound choice for yard trimmings on large, remote sites.

FAQ

Is there a federal food waste ban?

No. As of October 2026 there is no federal law requiring food waste or other organics to be diverted from landfills. Requirements come from states and, in some places, cities and counties. The duty to separate, collect or recycle organics is created by state statute or local ordinance, so the first step is always to read your own state’s law.

Which state has the broadest law?

Vermont and California reach the furthest in different ways. Vermont’s statute covers any amount of food residuals from any generator since July 1, 2020, so households are included. California’s SB 1383 requires every jurisdiction to provide organics collection to all residents and businesses and adds edible food recovery, procurement and capacity planning duties. Washington is moving the same direction, with collection requirements phasing in through 2030.

What happens if no composting facility is nearby?

In the five states with a distance trigger, a generator outside the radius, or near a facility with no available capacity, is generally not required to recycle under the state law. The radius ranges from 15 miles in Rhode Island to 30 miles in Maryland, and New York’s grows to 50 miles in 2027. New Jersey also allows a cost-based waiver. Check the state page, because local rules may still apply.

Do these laws require composting specifically?

Generally not. The laws require diversion or recycling, and most accept composting, anaerobic digestion and, in several states, animal feed. Vermont’s statute ranks source reduction and feeding people above composting. California and New York require covered businesses to donate edible food first. Composting is usually the outlet for whatever remains, especially mixed food scraps with yard trimmings.

Next step

If a state mandate is pushing food waste toward your site, start with how the process works and what it needs from a site: see how SG’s covered ASP technology works. From there, the facility start-up guide below walks through feasibility, permits and funding in order.

Related guides

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