University of Vermont Report Studies Impact of State Food Waste Ban

Researchers from the University of Vermont have released a report about state Act 148, a decade after the universal recycling and composting legislation was unanimously passed.

The phased-in food waste ban was fully implemented on July 1, 2020. While Vermont residents increased the amount of waste they separated from the trash by 50 percent following the ban. Despite this, a third of residents who responded said they were confused about the law's requirements.

"These findings indicate that increased public education about the law and how to compost may increase residential compliance," the study's authors noted. "Further, investments in easier food diversion methods for businesses could support Vermont's food industry."

Researchers studied the impact of this ban through data analysis pulled from two statewide online surveys in 2021 and 2022, separated by the general population and food businesses. The statewide survey attracted 783 Vermont residents, with an overrepresentation of older adults and those with greater incomes and education.

Respondents indicated they believed they believed in the environmental (90 percent) and societal (77 percent) benefits of the food waste ban. However, 79 percent of food service professionals reported economic costs.

More than half of those who took the survey said stores and establishments "should have been given more time to implement changes needed to comply with the food waste ban."

"The findings from this analysis also suggest that the food waste ban is well-understood and largely supported by Vermont's food retail and food service professionals and has led to changes in how food waste is managed by those food businesses," researchers concluded.

They added: "While few food businesses report continuing to dump food waste in the trash, a substantial proportion of business owners and managers - especially food service operators - report that compliance has been a challenge and introduced new costs.