Vermont’s law, passed unanimously by our state legislature, is groundbreaking. We are the first state in the Union to work towards keeping all yard and leaf waste, clean wood, and food scraps out of our landfills.
Act 148 implementation has been gradual. The biggest generators of food scraps (e.g., the University of Vermont, Cabot Creamery, Ben and Jerry’s, etc.) in Vermont had to be in compliance first—July 1, 2014. These were generators that produced 2 tons of food waste or more a week. Act 148 required that their food waste be kept out of the trash and disposed of in another manner.
As of July 1, 2017 any business or institution that produced 18 tons of food waste a year (1/3 ton a week) had to divert their food waste from the landfill.
As of July 1, 2020, it will be illegal for anyone (business, institution, or resident) to throw food waste in the trash.
The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources is the go-to source for Universal Recycling information.