S-4451.1
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 6180
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By Senate Environment, Energy & Technology (originally sponsored by
Senators Lovick, Keiser, Nguyen, Salomon, Torres, Valdez, Warnick,
and J. Wilson)
READ FIRST TIME 01/31/24.
1 AN ACT Relating to improving the outcomes associated with waste
2 material management systems, including products affecting organic
3 material management systems; amending RCW 70A.207.020, 70A.214.100,
4 70A.205.540, 70A.205.545, 70A.455.040, 70A.455.070, 70A.455.090,
5 15.04.420, and 43.19A.150; reenacting and amending RCW 70A.455.020;
6 adding new sections to chapter 70A.207 RCW; adding a new section to
7 chapter 43.23 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 70A.205 RCW; adding
8 a new section to chapter 70A.455 RCW; adding a new section to chapter
9 19.27 RCW; creating new sections; and prescribing penalties.
10 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
11 PART 1
12 INTENT
13 NEW SECTION. Sec. 101. INTENT. (1) The legislature finds:
14 (a) Washington is now experiencing the effects of a climate
15 crisis: Hotter summers with record-breaking temperatures, devastating
16 fires, drought conditions, and rising sea levels that erode our
17 coastlines and are causing some communities to move upland;
18 (b) Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and landfills are
19 documented by the United States environmental protection agency to be
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 1 the 3rd largest human-made source, with food, yard waste, and other
2 plant-based organic material degrading in landfills to methane;
3 (c) Food waste is a major issue in the United States and
4 globally, that, according to the food and agriculture organization of
5 the United Nations, unwanted and discarded food squanders resources,
6 including water, land, energy, labor, and capital, estimated that
7 one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption,
8 about 1,300,000,000 tons, is lost or wasted every year, and the food
9 loss and waste in industrialized countries equates to a value of
10 approximately $680,000,000,000;
11 (d) The Harvard University food law and policy clinic has
12 estimated that 40 percent of the food supply in the United States is
13 not eaten and that according to the United States environmental
14 protection agency and the United States department of agriculture,
15 food loss and waste is the single largest component of disposed
16 municipal solid waste in the United States;
17 (e) In 2015, that the administrator of the United States
18 environmental protection agency and the secretary of the United
19 States department of agriculture announced a national goal of
20 reducing food waste by 50 percent by the year 2030. In 2019,
21 Washington established the same goal in RCW 70A.205.715;
22 (f) Compost and other products of organic material management
23 facilities have beneficial applications and can improve soil health,
24 water quality, and other environmental outcomes. However, in order
25 for the products of organic material management facilities to lead to
26 improved environmental outcomes and for the economics of the
27 operations of these facilities to pencil out, it is important that
28 inbound sources of organic material waste are free of plastic
29 contamination, pesticides, and other materials that will reduce
30 compost quality; and
31 (g) Farmers, processors, retailers, and food banks in Washington
32 are leaders in addressing this issue, and in 2022, with the enactment
33 of chapter 180, Laws of 2022 (Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill
34 No. 1799), Washington took significant steps towards the improvement
35 of organic material management systems.
36 (2) It is the legislature's intent to provide additional tools
37 and financial resources to build on this progress in coming years by:
38 (a) Creating a variety of grant programs to support food waste
39 reduction, food rescue, and other organic material management system
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 1 improvements, including grants to support the implementation of new
2 policy requirements related to organic material management;
3 (b) Amending solid waste management requirements in support of
4 improved organic material management outcomes, including through the
5 statewide standardization of colors and labels for organic,
6 recycling, and garbage bins, and amending the organic material
7 management service requirements in local jurisdictions and that apply
8 to businesses;
9 (c) Standardizing and establishing a clear system of food
10 expiration date labeling requirements;
11 (d) Prohibiting plastic product stickers and making changes to
12 product degradability labeling requirements;
13 (e) Amending the state building code in support of organic
14 material management; and
15 (f) Continuing to discuss how to maximize donations of food from
16 generators of unwanted edible food.
17 (3) It is the legislature's intent for the following management
18 option preferences to apply to the management of food under this act,
19 including the provisions of law being amended by this act, in order
20 of most preferred to least preferred:
21 (a) Prevents wasted food;
22 (b) Donates or upcycles food;
23 (c) Feeds animals or leaves food unharvested;
24 (d) Composts or anaerobically digests materials with beneficial
25 use of the digestate or biosolids;
26 (e) Anaerobically digests materials with the disposal of
27 digestate or biosolids, or applies material to the land; and
28 (f) Sends materials down the drain, to landfills, or incinerates
29 material, with or without accompanying energy recovery.
30 PART 2
31 FUNDING FOR SUSTAINABLE FOOD MANAGEMENT PRIORITIES
32 NEW SECTION. Sec. 201. A new section is added to chapter
33 70A.207 RCW to read as follows:
34 CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE FOOD MANAGEMENT GRANTS. (1) The
35 department, through the center, must develop and administer grant
36 programs to support activities that reduce emissions from landfills
37 and waste-to-energy facilities through the diversion of organic
38 materials and food waste prevention, rescue, and recovery. Grant
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 1 programs under this section must be developed and implemented in
2 consultation with the department of agriculture, and the department
3 must seek stakeholder input in the design, criteria, and logistics
4 associated with each grant program. The department must allocate
5 grant funding across the eligible categories specified in subsection
6 (2) of this section in a manner consistent with legislative
7 appropriations, and that achieves the following priorities:
8 (a) Maximizing greenhouse gas emission reductions;
9 (b) Eliminating barriers to the rescue and consumption of edible
10 food that would otherwise be wasted;
11 (c) Developing stable funding programs for the department to
12 administer and stable funding opportunities for potential fund
13 recipients to be aware of; and
14 (d) Preferences the following management options, in order of
15 most preferred to least preferred:
16 (i) Prevents wasted food;
17 (ii) Donates or upcycles food;
18 (iii) Feeds animals or leaves food unharvested;
19 (iv) Composts or anaerobically digests materials with beneficial
20 use of the digestate or biosolids;
21 (v) Anaerobically digests materials with the disposal of
22 digestate or biosolids, or applies material to the land;
23 (vi) Sends materials down the drain, to landfills, or incinerates
24 material, with or without accompanying energy recovery.
25 (2) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this
26 specific purpose, grants under this section may be awarded to the
27 following categories of activities:
28 (a) Projects to prevent the surplus of unsold, uneaten food from
29 food businesses or to standardize and improve the operating
30 procedures associated with food donations, including efforts to
31 standardize collection bins, provide staff training for food donors
32 or food rescue organizations, or make other changes to increase the
33 efficiency or efficacy of food donation procedures. Local
34 governments, federally recognized Indian tribes and federally
35 recognized Indian tribal government entities, nonprofit
36 organizations, and generators of unwanted edible food are eligible
37 applicants for grants under this subsection. Equipment and
38 infrastructure purchases, training costs, costs associated with the
39 development and deployment of operating protocols, and employee staff
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 1 time reimbursement are eligible uses of grant funding under this
2 subsection;
3 (b)(i) Projects to improve and reduce the transportation of
4 donated foods and management of cold chains across the donated food
5 supply chain, including through food rescue organizations. Local
6 governments, federally recognized Indian tribes and federally
7 recognized Indian tribal government entities, nonprofit
8 organizations, transporters of unwanted edible food, and generators
9 of unwanted edible food are eligible applicants for grants under this
10 subsection. Eligible uses of grant funding under this subsection
11 include the acquisition of vehicles, cold-storage equipment, real
12 estate, and technology to support donated food storage and
13 transportation system improvements.
14 (ii) Grants under this subsection (2)(b) may not be used for the
15 purchase or lease of equipment that relies on a fuel source other
16 than electricity or the purchase or lease of vehicles other than
17 zero-emission vehicles;
18 (c)(i) Grant programs to support the establishment and expansion
19 of wasted food reduction programs to benefit vulnerable communities.
20 This grant program must be developed in consultation with the
21 department of agriculture, the department of health, and food policy
22 stakeholders.
23 (ii) Nonprofit organizations, businesses, associations, federally
24 recognized Indian tribes and federally recognized Indian tribal
25 government entities, and local governments are eligible to receive
26 grants under this subsection. Eligible uses of the funds may include
27 community food hub development projects, cold food storage capacity,
28 refrigerated transport capacity, convenings to inform innovation in
29 wasted food reduction in retail and food service establishments, and
30 pilot projects to reduce wasted food. No more than 20 percent of
31 funds allocated under this subsection (2)(c) may be awarded to a
32 single grant recipient; and
33 (d) Food waste tracking and analytics pilot project grants. Local
34 governments, federally recognized Indian tribes and federally
35 recognized Indian tribal government entities, nonprofit
36 organizations, transporters of unwanted edible food, and generators
37 of unwanted edible food are eligible applicants for grants under this
38 subsection. Eligible uses of grant funding under this subsection
39 include staff time and technology to improve food waste prevention or
40 improve tracking of food donations through the food supply chain and
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 1 to provide data useful to enabling more efficient and effective
2 outcomes for the provision of food available for rescue.
3 (3) The department may establish additional eligibility criteria
4 or application process requirements beyond those described in
5 subsection (2) of this section for a category or categories of
6 activity. The department may, as a condition of the award of a grant
7 under this section, require the reporting of information to the
8 department regarding the outcomes of the funded activities.
9 (4) The department may award grants to eligible applicants
10 meeting the minimum qualifying criteria on a competitive basis, or to
11 applicants on a noncompetitive basis, or both. Within each category
12 of activity described in subsection (2) of this section, the
13 department must prioritize grant applications that benefit
14 overburdened communities as defined in RCW 70A.02.010 as identified
15 by the department in accordance with RCW 70A.02.050.
16 NEW SECTION. Sec. 202. A new section is added to chapter
17 70A.207 RCW to read as follows:
18 SUSTAINABLE FOOD MANAGEMENT POLICY IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS. (1) The
19 department, through the center, must develop and administer grant
20 programs to support the implementation of the requirements of this
21 act and chapter 180, Laws of 2022, with priority given to grants that
22 support the implementation of RCW 70A.205.540 and 70A.205.545.
23 Eligible recipients of grants under this section may include
24 businesses that are subject to organic material management
25 requirements, local governments, federally recognized Indian tribes
26 and federally recognized Indian tribal government entities, nonprofit
27 organizations, or organic material management facilities. Eligible
28 expenses by grant recipients include education, outreach, technical
29 assistance, indoor and outdoor infrastructure, transportation and
30 processing infrastructure, and enforcement costs.
31 (2) The department may not require, as a condition of financial
32 assistance under this section, that matching funds be made available
33 by a local government recipient. The department must provide
34 assistance to each local government that demonstrates eligibility for
35 grant assistance under this section.
36 Sec. 203. RCW 70A.207.020 and 2022 c 180 s 402 are each amended
37 to read as follows:
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 1 CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE FOOD MANAGEMENT DUTIES. (1) The Washington
2 center for sustainable food management is established within the
3 department((, to begin operations by January 1, 2024)).
4 (2) The purpose of the center is to help coordinate statewide
5 food waste reduction.
6 (3) The center may perform the following activities:
7 (a) Coordinate the implementation of the plan;
8 (b) Draft plan updates and measure progress towards actions,
9 strategies, and the statewide goals established in RCW 70A.205.007
10 and 70A.205.715(1);
11 (c) Maintain a website with current food waste reduction
12 information and guidance for food service establishments, consumers,
13 food processors, hunger relief organizations, and other sources of
14 food waste;
15 (d) Provide staff support to multistate food waste reduction
16 initiatives in which the state is participating;
17 (e) Maintain the consistency of the plan and other food waste
18 reduction activities with the work of the Washington state
19 conservation commission's food policy forum;
20 (f) Facilitate and coordinate public-private and nonprofit
21 partnerships focused on food waste reduction, including through
22 voluntary working groups;
23 (g) Collaborate with federal, state, and local government
24 partners on food waste reduction initiatives;
25 (h) Develop and maintain maps or lists of locations of the food
26 systems of Washington that identify food flows, where waste occurs,
27 and opportunities to prevent food waste;
28 (i)(i) Collect and maintain data on food waste and wasted food in
29 a manner that is generally consistent with the methods of collecting
30 and maintaining such data used by federal agencies or in other
31 jurisdictions, or both, to the greatest extent practicable;
32 (ii) Develop measurement methodologies and tools to uniformly
33 track food donation data, food waste prevention data, and associated
34 climate impacts resultant from food waste reduction efforts;
35 (j) Research and develop emerging organic materials and food
36 waste reduction markets;
37 (k)(i) Develop and maintain statewide food waste reduction and
38 food waste contamination reduction campaigns, in consultation with
39 other state agencies and other stakeholders, including the
40 development of waste prevention and food waste recovery promotional
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 1 materials for distribution. These promotional materials may include
2 online information, newsletters, bulletins, or handouts that inform
3 food service establishment operators about the protections from civil
4 and criminal liability under federal law and under RCW 69.80.031 when
5 donating food; and
6 (ii) Develop guidance to support the distribution of promotional
7 materials, including distribution by:
8 (A) Local health officers, at no cost to regulated food service
9 establishments, including as part of normal, routine inspections of
10 food service establishments; and
11 (B) State agencies, including the department of health and the
12 department of agriculture, in conjunction with their statutory roles
13 and responsibilities in regulating, monitoring, and supporting safe
14 food supply chains and systems;
15 (l) Distribute and monitor grants dedicated to food waste
16 prevention, rescue, and recovery, which must include the programs
17 desc