Dive Brief:

• The Illinois Environmental Council has told members that more garbage could be heading to landfills in the state if recycling and food scrap grants programs overseen by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity are canceled and three overseers are laid off Oct. 1.  
• Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, and the Democrat-controlled Legislature can't agree on a budget for the July 1 fiscal year, the Associated Press reported. Rauner had announced layoffs and closures to control spending until a budget is approved. The layoffs are on hold, however, until a judge hears from labor unions. 
• The state says recycling diverted 79 million tons of material from landfills in 2014. Rauner's plan calls for a slight increase in the recycling program budget, a $7.1 million program with one fewer employee. 

Dive Insight:

Food scrap composting efforts in Minneapolis, Boston and Maryland are pushing toward zero waste and even profits.  

The grants program in Illinois has proved successful, the Southern Illinoisan reported. In 2013, Western Illinois University got a $24,000 grant to buy collection bins and composting bins to turn dining hall leftovers into compost. The new equipment was aimed at doubling the 100 pounds of food waste collected daily.