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Maryland Can Compost! Public hearing in the House
Food waste is an enormous problem, with over 25% of the overall food supply at the retail and consumer level going uneaten and thrown away. Disposing of our organic material in landfills and incinerators is a waste; we are losing the potential benefits of compost as a climate mitigation and adaptation strategy, soil additive, and job creator. Composting turns this discarded organic material into a nutrient-rich product that helps sequester carbon while improving soil health and resiliency, and employing Marylanders.
Composting is an effective tool at reducing CO2 and methane emissions while creating a product that can help improve resilience to our changing climate. When added to soil, compost adds carbon to the soil and can reduce urban stormwater pollutants by 60 to 95%. Soil health has been in decline, in part due to our broken food system. We extract nutrients when we grow plants in soil, but if we do not put those nutrients back into the system, then the soil becomes depleted. Adding compost to our soil strategy replenishes the soil microbiome and improves soil health. And expanding composting and local compost use could support almost 1,400 new full-time jobs in Maryland, according to a 2013 study by the Institute for Local Self Reliance. Expanding compost would support both new and existing compost facilities, but also supports Maryland businesses that use compost for soil erosion control, stormwater management, green infrastructure, and other purposes.
On February 19, the House of Representatives Environment and Transportation Committee will hold a hearing on HB589. This legislation would require large-scale food waste generators to separate out their food waste, if there is a composting facility within 30 miles that could accept it; then, they could send it there, to another compost facility, to a farm, to a food donation program, etc. This would get food waste out of our landfills and incinerators, and spark the development of compost businesses across the state.
The hearing begins at 1PM, but please arrive at 12 to allow time for finding the hearing room and to arrive early to save a seat. There will be panels of testimony from the supporters of this bill, and then from the opposition. The bill might be called for a hearing at any point in the afternoon - so please plan to stay as long as you can!
House Office Building - Environment & Transportation Committee room
6 Bladen St
Annapolis, MD 21401
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
12:00 PM EST - 5:00 PM EST