Press Release: 11/20/2025
Mass. Dept. of Environmental Protection proposes diverting food waste from landfills, incinerators
NOVEMBER 19, 2025
MEDIA CONTACTS
Executive Director, MASSPIRG
A key new policy was proposed at a meeting of the Solid Waste Advisory Committee (SWAC) of the Department of Environment Protection (DEP) on 11/18/25. John Fischer, the DEP’s Deputy Division Director of Solid Waste announced that the agency would soon propose draft regulations that would result in all food waste being diverted from disposal. According to the DEP, we threw away approximately 930,000 pounds of food waste across the state in 2024.
While the DEP has taken steps over the last decade to divert some food waste from landfills and incinerators, total diversion would be a huge leap forward.
Zero Waste Massachusetts, a coalition of four groups — MASSPIRG, Community Action Works, Conservation Law Foundation and Clean Water Massachusetts — has been calling for such a solution for years. In response to Fischer’s announcement, the groups released this statement:
“Disposing of leftover food products wastes money and pollutes our environment. Estimated methane emissions from Massachusetts landfills have the same climate impacts as 116,000 cars on the road for a year. It doesn’t have to be that way. Food scraps (banana peels, etc) should be composted, and food waste (edible food that’s tossed) should be reduced through rescue, better labeling, and donation. We’ve been pushing for this policy for more than a decade. We look forward to working with the DEP and others to make this proposal a reality in our state.”
Janet Domenitz, MASSPIRG
Joyce Fang, Community Action Works
Katharine Lange, Conservation Law Foundation
Amber Schmidt, Clean Water Action