Center for EcoTechnology Tools

These resources were originally developed by the Center for EcoTechnology (CET) under contract to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) as part of MassDEP’s RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts program. CET has modified these documents to remove Massachusetts-specific information so that they can be applied region-wide.

• opens in a new windowCOMMUNITY TOOLKIT: Adding Food Waste to a Yard Trimmings Compost Facility
  • Existing municipal yard trimming composting sites represent an under-used potential to quickly increase the capacity to effectively process food scraps locally. COMMUNITY TOOLKIT: Adding Food Waste to a Yard Trimmings Compost Facility, published by the Center for EcoTechnology in partnership with BioCycle, will help municipalities determine how to employ this strategy in their community.
• opens in a new windowBans and Beyond: Designing and Implementing Organic Waste Bans and Mandatory Organics Recycling Laws
  • The Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic, with support from the Center for EcoTechnology (CET) has released a toolkit on organic waste bans and their potential to reduce food waste and strengthen local economies.
• opens in a new windowSource Reduction Guidance
  • The Source Reduction Guidance document includes information on the source reduction of food waste at institutional foodservice operations. Guidance includes strategies such as waste tracking, meal planning, food purchasing, and dining hall design.

• opens in a new windowSource Separation Guidance
  • The Source Separation Guidance document was developed with health officials for health officials. It is intended to provide best practices for acceptable handling, storage, and hauling of this material, and to assist health agents that may be unfamiliar with wasted food separation for composting.

• opens in a new windowFood Donation Guidance
  • This document is intended to provide guidance to organizations interested in establishing food donation programs by offering a broad overview of how successful food donation programs should be structured.

• opens in a new windowHauler Contracting Guidanceopens PDF file
  • This document provides guidelines for businesses and institutions to help set up contracts for hauling trash, recyclables, and/or organics, effectively manage these services, and adjust contracts.

Additonal Resources for You

RecyclingWorks in MA Tools

These resources were developed by the Center for EcoTechnology (CET) under contract to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) as part of MassDEP’s RecyclingWorks in Massachusetts program. Although these documents reference the state of Massachusetts, they are public documents and may be applicable region-wide.

• opens in a new windowFood Waste Estimator Tool
  • RecyclingWorks has compiled industry data from published reports and studies, which can be used as guidance for facilities with little to no current wasted food diversion programs in place. Select the industry category that best fits your business or institution to start estimating your wasted food today.

• opens in a new windowHow to Reduce Food Waste
  • A resource for businesses and institutions with tips and guidelines to save money, improve labor efficiency, and reduce waste

• opens in a new windowFood Waste Diversion Guide For Restaurantsopens PDF file
  • Guidance for starting or expanding a wasted food diversion program at a restaurant, including tips for evaluating current operations, designing the program, staff training, and monitoring and maintaining the program.

Additional Resources for You

• opens in a new windowEPA’s Sustainable Management of Food
  • Choose your state or EPA region from the map or search by state to find EPA regional wasted food prevention and diversion efforts.

• opens in a new windowReFED
  • This collaboration of businesses, nonprofits, foundations, and government leaders is dedicated to reducing wasted food in the U.S. by 50 percent by 2030. In March 2016, ReFED released the  opens in a new windowRoadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Wasteopens PDF file , an economic study of wasted food aimed at providing a feasible guide for action. It features 27 of the most cost-effective ways to reduce wasted food based on societal economic value, business profit potential, and other non-financial impacts.
  • ReFED’s  opens in a new windowFood Waste Innovator Database maps commercial and nonprofit entities that are working in the food waste innovation sector. The 350+ entities are mapped by geography and solution type.

• opens in a new windowFurther With Food
  • Comprehensive information about food loss and waste in the United States and the solutions dedicated to reducing it. This virtual resource center offers a broad spectrum of users – such as businesses, government entities, investors, NGOs, academics, and individuals – a platform to find and share information about proven solutions and innovative new approaches to reduce the volume of surplus food generated, feed hungry people, and divert food and scraps to the highest beneficial use.

• opens in a new windowSave the Food
  • The Natural Resources Defense Council has partnered with the Ad Council to develop a host of resources to help communities and individuals address the important issue of wasted food.

• opens in a new windowBioCycle
  • BioCycle is a great resource for organics recovery information through its conferences, websites and publications.

• opens in a new windowFeeding America
  • Feeding America provides a directory of more than 200 food banks nationally, as well as research and reporting on hunger across the United States.

• Food Rescue US
  • Food Rescue US is made up of individuals and nonprofit organizations who provide for food insecure individuals and families.

• opens in a new windowThe Compost Navigator
  • This BioCycle tool helps locate composting facilities, anaerobic digestion sites, and organics collection services near you.

• opens in a new windowHarvard Food Law and Policy Clinic
  • FLPC has published reports, legal guides, and fact sheets on a variety of topics related to food law and policy. They partnered with CET to develop the first set of fact sheets on donation ( opens in a new windowdate labeling lawsopens PDF file ,  opens in a new windowliability protectionopens PDF file ,  opens in a new windowtax incentives for businessesopens PDF file ) for Massachusetts and have since replicated them for many other states. There are also many other great resources in their library.

• opens in a new windowNatural Resources Defense Council
  • The NRDC has done comprehensive analysis on the importance of the wasted food issue and has developed many resources to address the problem. The  opens in a new windowFood Matters project at NRDC partners with cities to provide technical expertise, best practices, and other tools to help them achieve reductions in wasted food. Resources include a policy and program toolkit, strategic communications and partnership guide, and more.
  • Food Waste Policy Gap Analysis and Inventory: MidAtlantic, Southeast, and Great Lakes Regions: These three regional reports were prepared for NRDC by the Center for EcoTechnology, the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic, and BioCycle Connect, LLC to provide an overview of existing food waste-related policies and opportunities for furthering food waste reduction in states within each region.

• opens in a new windowFood Waste Reduction Alliance: Best Practices and Emerging Solutions Guideopens PDF file
  • This toolkit was developed to help guide companies through the basic steps in wasted food reduction. Included are sections on how to get started, as well as suggestions for identifying a range of solutions.
  • FWRA has undertaken assessments of the volume of wasted food being produced by each member sector – manufacturing, retail, and food-service. It has also developed recommended emerging solutions and best practices for food manufacturers, retailers, and food-service operators.

• opens in a new windowSustainable America’s Food Rescue Database
  • A directory of organizations across the United States that rescue, glean, transport, prepare, and distribute food to the needy in their communities.

• opens in a new windowAmpleHarvest.org
  • A nationwide resource to help reduce wasted food with the goal to reduce hunger and improve the environment. Through  opens in a new windowAmpleHarvest.org, gardeners that have excess produce can locate a food pantry near them, find directions to the pantry, as well as the pantry’s day/time for receiving donations.

• opens in a new windowThe National Restaurant Association’s ConServe
  • This program provides information to help restaurants reduce wasted food and donate edible food. The website has a  opens in a new windowBest Practices section with tips for reducing wasted food; it also has a number of “how to” videos for restauranteurs. The  opens in a new windowTools & Solutions section has information on donating food, zero waste, and more.

• opens in a new windowFunding Opportunities for Organics & Compost Related Businesses in the Northeastopens PDF file
  • Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) compiled the funding opportunities for organics and compost related businesses from state and federal agencies in the Northeast. These states include Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The document does not include information regarding possible funding from foundations and other organizations.
• Reducing Food Waste in Manufacturing: Strategies to Prevent, Donate, and Recycle Waste
  • Learn about wasted food prevention, donation, and diversion opportunities and get a deeper understanding of anaerobic digestion.

Additional Resources for You

Case Studies:

Brewery: Apponaug Brewing Companyopens PDF file

Hotel: Sheraton at Bradley International Airport

School: Wilton School District

Wasted Food to Fuel: Diverting Food Scraps for Anaerobic Digestion in Middletown, CT

Spotlights to Inspire:

Rhode Islandopens PDF file

Providence, RIopens PDF file

New Haven, CTopens PDF file

Philadelphia, PAopens PDF file

opens in a new windowTHE GREEN TEAM is an interactive educational program for K-12 schools and empowers students and teachers to help the environment through waste reduction, recycling, composting, energy conservation, and pollution prevention.

• GREEN TEAM participants receive educational tools, such as a classroom poster, lesson plans, recycling tips and suggested activities.
• Participating classes receive certificates of recognition and are eligible to win awards.
• opens in a new windowREGISTER TODAY!

Call: (888) 254-5525opens phone dialer   Email:  recycle@thegreenteam.org

• opens in a new windowHow to comply with the Connecticut organics recycling law
  • The Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) provides information on how to comply with the Connecticut commercial organics recycling law
• opens in a new windowThe Connecticut Commercial Organics Recycling Law (Public Act 11-217), in effect as of January 2017, states that commercial food wholesalers or distributors, industrial food manufacturers or processors, supermarkets, resorts, or conference centers that 1) produce 52 or more tons per year (1 ton per week) of organic waste and 2) are located within 20 miles of a permitted recycling facility, must recycle organic material. Compliance options under the law include on-site composting, or installation of permitted on-site organics treatment equipment. The threshold was reduced from 104 tons per year to 52 tons per year on January 1, 2020.
•  Public Act (PA) No. 21-16opens PDF file , approved in May 2021, requires that “on and after January 1, 2022, each commercial food wholesaler or distributor, industrial food manufacturer or processor, supermarket, resort or conference center that is located not more than 20 miles from an authorized source separated organic material composting facility and that generates an average projected volume of not less than 26 tons/year of source separated organic materials shall: (A) Separate such source separated organic materials from other solid waste; and (B) ensure that such source separated organic materials are recycled at any authorized source separated organic material composting facility that has available capacity and that will accept such source separated organic material.”
• Helpful fact sheets on food donation laws from the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic
  • opens in a new windowLegal Fact Sheet: Date Labeling Lawsopens PDF file
  • opens in a new windowLegal Fact Sheet: Liability Protectionopens PDF file
  • opens in a new windowLegal Fact Sheet: Tax Incentives for Businessesopens PDF file
  • opens in a new windowLegal Fact Sheet: Feeding Food Scraps to Animalsopens PDF file
• opens in a new windowBill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Actopens PDF file
  • The Federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act (Public Law 104-210) protects donors from liability when donating to nonprofit organizations and protects donors from civil and criminal liability should the product, donated in good faith, later cause harm to the needy recipient.

Read the Full Stories opens PDF file

opens PDF file

• Connecticut wastes too much food, but help is on the way– News 8

• Connecticut using fed funds for projects to curb food waste– New Haven Register

• Grants aim to reduce food waste– Journal Inquirer

• Middlebrook School focuses on food donations in cafeteria– The Hour

• Zero Waste Connecticut Schools Coalition Forming– Patch News

• First Zero Waste meeting draws 50– Wilton Bulletin