Several bills have been proposed in the U.S. Congress that would go a long way in supporting agricultural practices that are sustainable and address climate change concerns.  In the House, Representatives Ann McLane Kuster (New Hampshire) and Chellie Pingree (Maine) joined Representative Julia Brownley (California) in introducing the Cultivating Organic Matter through the Promotion of Sustainable Techniques (COMPOST) Act.  A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate by Cory Booker (New Jersey).  The U.S. Composting Infrastructure Coalition (USCIC) has applauded the legislation and is encouraging its members to voice their support for the COMPOST Act:  https://compostinfrastructure.com/take-action  

In a USCIC press release, Frank Franciosi, Executive Director of the U.S. Composting Council, a member of the Coalition said “The benefits of increased compost production include reduced volumes of organic materials flowing to landfills, lowered methane emissions, sequestering carbon back into the soil and closing the loop on a circular economy.”

The COMPOST Act creates grant and loan programs for compost infrastructure projects.  It also designates composting as a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation practice – for both the production and use of compost.  The bill proposes funding in the amount of $200 million per year starting in fiscal year 2022 through FY2031.

The same coalition of legislators also introduced the Zero Food Waste Act with the goal of a 50% reduction in food waste by 2030 (from 2010 levels).  The bill includes appropriations in the amount of $650 million per year for FY22 through FY31.  Anaerobic digestion projects for food wastes would be eligible for funding under the Zero Food Waste Act.

The bills are intended to support sustainable farming practices and have a positive impact on climate change by improving soil health and sequestering carbon.  For a more detailed article about these two pieces of legislation, see recent article in BioCycle magazine: COMPOST, Zero Food Waste Legislation Introduced In Congress | BioCycle

The other bill that NEBRA will be watching closely is Senate bill 1251 (S.1251 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Growing Climate Solutions Act of 2021 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress).  The bill was passed with broad support in the Senate (92 yeas, 8 nays) in late June and is currently being held in the House.  According to the summary online, S-1251 “authorizes the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a voluntary Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Provider and Third-Party Verifier Certification Program to help reduce entry barriers into voluntary environmental credit markets for farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners.”