A bill establishing the structure of a school recycling program focused on reducing food waste will be considered by the full House of Representatives. The 15-member House Education Committee voted May 25 to approve an amended version of the bill (H5328 Substitute A) after one member of the panel said she opposed the measure because of an 鈥渦nfunded mandate鈥� to be shouldered by school districts.
The bill, which was sponsored by nine lawmakers, seeks to reduce school food and paper waste in cooperation with the state departments of education and environmental management, the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC) and individual communities. At the outset of the hearing, the committee voted to discard the original version of the bill and use a substitute with amendments, including a new target date of September 2021 for the rules to take effect.
The legislation would require all K-12 and vocational schools to produce a 鈥渨aste audit鈥� report with guidelines and strategies meant to eliminate food waste, promote recycling and provide excess food to their communities. The audits would be conducted free of charge in coordination with the RIRRC.
School districts would require food-service companies seeking contracts to comply with relevant recycling and compositing laws. Districts would be encouraged to use vendors buying 10 percent of their supplies from Rhode Island-based companies, with a requirement for the companies to donate unserved nonperishable or unspoiled perishable food to local food banks or the Rhode Island Community Food Bank in line with the Department of Health鈥檚 Rhode to End Hunger initiative. Rules requiring use of an authorized 鈥渃omposting facility or anaerobic digestion facility鈥� would apply to schools producing 30 or more tons of organic waste material annually.