Food Scraps Law Impact on Farms and Processors - Opportunities for Farm Participation

Abstract

Effective January 1st, 2022 New York State will implement new legislative guidance on food donation and scrap recycling – The Food Donation and Food Scrap Recycling Law1. The law will require the diversion of organics from landfills to human consumption, animal consumption, and then organics recycling. NYS dairy farms have the opportunity to accept food waste as animal feed, or to divert streams of organics as a digester feedstock. Brewers and distillers’ grains are a growing food processing waste source and there is potential for this material to be used in a dairy cow’s diet. A larger opportunity exists with farms willing to add food waste in their anaerobic digester (AD). Farms with an AD can harvest the energy and the nutrients from the food waste, and tipping fees may add to the farm revenue. There are significant opportunities for farms to participate as discussed below.