Dive Brief:

• New York City businesses in the food industry must begin recycling organic waste when a new law takes effect on July 1, 2015.
• A provision could exempt the businesses from complying: Local Law 146 states that the institutions must have access to an affordable facility to recycle the organics nearby; the law states that the distance of the plant should be no further than 100 miles away.
• The facility in Wilmington, DE was the prime candidate expected to accept the waste; however, its recent closure has left questions as to where New York City scraps will wind up.

Dive Insight:

When officials considered the bill, they weren’t expecting the Wilmington facility would be the one and only option; they anticipated that more facilities would be built to accommodate the substantial volume of waste generated by city eateries and grocers. 

There are challenges facing the construction of new facilities: overall cost, the availability of land to build a plant close to the city and obtaining permits. So although the law kicks in this summer, the city’s sanitation commissioner could potentially suspend the ordinance if it proves too costly.