ASSEMBLY BUDGET COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 2090

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JUNE 27, 2025

      The Assembly Budget Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 2090.

      As amended and reported, this bill would require each solid waste management district in the State (i.e., each county and the Hackensack Meadowlands District) to develop, as part of its district solid waste management plan, a strategy to reduce food waste in the district.

      Specifically, the bill would require each solid waste management district to develop and implement a strategy for reducing, by the year 2035, the amount of food waste generated annually in the district by at least 50 percent of the amount which was generated in 2022.  The strategy would be adopted as an amendment to each district’s solid waste management plan, or through an administrative action, and would be subject to the approval of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

      The bill would require the DEP to develop, and publish on its Internet website, a list of measures solid waste management districts can take in order to achieve the food waste reduction requirement established in the bill.  These measures would include actions to prevent food waste and increase the donation of surplus edible food, the source separation and recycling of food waste, the composting and anaerobic digestion of food waste and other food waste diversion methods that also reduce methane emissions, and public awareness campaigns.  The bill would also require the DEP to adopt rules and regulations to create a tiered regulatory structure for composting facilities, based on the framework established in the Solid Waste Management Act, in order to facilitate the use of organic waste recycling facilities in the State.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to:

      (1) require the food waste reduction strategies required by the bill to reduce the amount of food waste generated by 50 percent by the year 2035, rather than the year 2030, using the year 2022 as a baseline, rather than the year the bill takes effect;

      (2) authorize solid waste management districts to adopt their food waste reduction strategy through an administrative action taken pursuant to DEP regulations;

      (3) clarify that any increase in the amount of perishable food donated for human consumption, as well as any increase in the amount of food waste composted or anaerobically digested, would count toward the food waste reduction target established by the bill;

      (4) require the DEP to adopt rules and regulations regarding the creation of a tiered regulatory structure for composting facilities pursuant to the Solid Waste Management Act;

      (5) revise the definition of “food waste”; and

      (6) change the bill’s synopsis.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) determines that this bill would result in a one-time expenditure increase by counties and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which administers the Hackensack Meadowlands solid waste management district, to amend their solid waste management plans.  The OLS understands that the costs for this process are approximately $5,000 per plan.  The bill also permits districts to modify their plans through administrative action, which could mitigate these costs.

      The OLS also determines that implementing a public awareness campaign would be the most cost-effective way for districts to attempt to achieve a 50 percent reduction in food waste collected by solid waste management districts.  Municipalities may also implement donation, source separation, and composting measures.  Several counties informed the OLS that they have spent around $50,000 per year on similar campaigns in the past.  Assuming that each county and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority spend $55,000 to amend their plans, organize a public awareness campaign, and implement other recycling and waste reduction strategies, this yields a total one-time local cost of $1.2 million and a one-time State cost of $55,000.  Multi-year public awareness campaigns and long-term recycling and food waste reduction practices would result in recurring expenditures for these entities.

      The bill would also result in a one-time workload increase for the Department of Environmental Protection to review and approve amended solid waste management plans, develop the webpage required by the bill, and develop new rules and regulations concerning composting.  Current staff using existing resources could likely perform these tasks.