PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island lawmakers are considering whether to require that restaurants, grocery stores and college dining halls recycle their food waste.
The bill getting a legislative hearing Thursday would phase in the rules gradually, first applying them to institutions like colleges that produce significant food waste. In 2021 the rules would apply to all businesses that generate food scraps.
Those that would be subject to the proposed law would have to compose the waste or send it to a processing facility.
The rules wouldn’t apply to residential food waste - or to businesses or groups that are located more than 20 miles from a processing facility.
The bill’s sponsor, Democratic Rep. Donna Walsh of Charlestown, says food scraps waste landfill space and can be used as a fertilizer or energy source.
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