# Zero Food Waste Act: Plain Language Summary

The Zero Food Waste Act creates a federal grant program to help reduce the amount of food waste Americans throw away. The Environmental Protection Agency would distribute up to $650 million per year from 2022 through 2031 to states, cities, nonprofits, and tribal governments that want to tackle food waste. The overall goal is ambitious: cut food waste in half by 2030 compared to 2010 levels.

The grants can be used in several practical ways. Communities could study how much food waste they're generating and develop plans to reduce it. They could collect data and publish regular reports tracking their progress. They could also fund actual waste-reduction projects, like starting composting programs, creating food rescue operations that redirect surplus food to people who need it, or building facilities that convert food waste into other products. The bill also allows communities to use pricing strategies—charging more to throw food away in landfills or incinerators while rewarding businesses and residents who participate in reduction activities. For projects that break down food waste through anaerobic digestion (a process that converts organic material into energy and fertilizer), the bill requires that the resulting material be used safely as soil amendment.

The bill prioritizes funding for communities that have been hit hardest by environmental problems, including low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. Nonprofits applying for grants need support from their local government or another established nonprofit in the area. Every organization that receives funding must report back to the EPA on what they accomplished, and the EPA must publish annual reports to Congress showing whether the program is actually working to reduce food waste.

Zero Food Waste Act

Brownley, Julia

Zero Food Waste Act This bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a grant program to study and reduce food waste.