Department for Environmental Services Releases Food Waste Study

The New Hampshire Department for Environmental Services recently published a study on food waste generation in New Hampshire, which is available here. This study was done in response to a 2023 law that requires generators of one or more tons of food waste per week to find an alternative method of disposal other than landfills or incineration, if possible. The study, performed through 2025 and 2026, identified 888 entities that were subject to the disposal ban, which collectively generate an estimated 222,220 tons of food waste every year. The study found that almost 155,000 tons of that waste was diverted from landfills, using methods such as donations, composting, anaerobic digestion, or turning it into animal feed. This could potentially reduce waste emissions by anywhere between 33,000 tons to 101,000 tons every year!

BCM Environmental Land Law has always stood for alternatives to landfills, and it was our work that helped to ensure that Governor Ayotte recently passed HB 707, which regulates landfills in the state. We will continue to stand for the people of New Hampshire and their right to live in a clean state, and fight for a future where pollution and waste is minimized and our natural world is protected.