Vermont Bans Plastic Bags, Mandates Composting Instead of Throwing Out Food Scraps

Vermont Bans Plastic Bags, Mandates Composting Instead of Throwing Out Food Scraps

Back in 2012, Vermont passed a law that banned people from throwing out food scraps, forcing people to throw them in the compost.

That law went into effect on July 1 along with a statewide ban on plastic bags.

I use the compost and I only put in fruit, veggies, and eggshells. Vermont is requiring people to also throw in coffee grounds and tea bags along with “plate scraps:”

• Bread
• Meat
• Dairy
• Sweets
• Sauces
• Expired Food

From The Takeout:

The goal is to redirect 50% of the waste that would have, in the past, gone to landfills. So now instead of dumping all their pits, rinds, scraps, bones, coffee grounds, and unwanted leftovers into the garbage, Vermont residents will put it all in the composting bin. “If it was once part of something alive, like a plant or animal,” the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation advises on its website, “it does not belong in the landfill.” The state set aside nearly $1 million for grants for composting agencies to buy new equipment and expand their curbside pickup and dropoff services. Even the most isolated Vermonter has a composting facility within 10 miles.

Although there’s a policy in place that requires Vermont officials to go through trash every five years to determine what everybody’s tossing (what a great job!), nobody will be digging through anyone’s individual garbage bin. “Instead,” Fast Company reports, “officials are asking for voluntary compliance—and they expect to get it, based on how seriously Vermonters take their environmentalism.”

People do not have to compost in their backyard. They can drop off food scraps or facilities or “ask their trash hauler if they provide food scrap collection.”

The Vermont Retail & Grocers Association wanted to postpone the plastic bag ban because of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. Vermont hates plastic in general:

But the Vermont Health Department gave reusable bags the OK and lawmakers stuck with the original date.

Starting Wednesday, food and service establishments will no longer be giving out plastic carryout bags. Exceptions include loose items in a store like meat, flowers or nuts and coffee.

Shoppers will have to bring a reusable bag or pay 10 cents for a paper bag.

The law goes beyond the checkout line. Plastic straws will now be by request, plastic stirrers will be replaced with a stirrer of a different material and stores will no longer be offering polystyrene as an option for egg cartons or trays.

[Featured image via YouTube]

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