Advocacy

US Draft National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics

As described in the December 14 edition of I Am SWANA News, the Draft National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics was released by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The goal of the strategy is to prevent the loss and waste of food to " help reduce greenhouse gas emissions (including methane), save households and businesses money, and build cleaner communities by reducing food loss and waste."

The public comment period for the draft strategy closes on February 3, 2024. The Draft National Strategy can be found here. SWANA plans on submitting comments. Feedback on points to include in SWANA’s comments can be directed to Kristyn Oldendorf at koldendorf@swana.org.

US Waste Reduction Model (WARM) Version 16

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released the Waste Reduction Model (WARM) version 16 with its supporting documentation. WARM is a tool that estimates the potential greenhouse gas emissions, energy savings and economic impacts of baseline and alternative waste management practices of materials. Learn more.

US Rulemaking on Energy Tax Credits

As described in the December 14 edition of I Am SWANA News, SWANA is engaging on the US Department of Treasury’s proposed rule clarifying the types of energy property eligible for the energy credit under section 48 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA).

The US Treasury Department Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), to amend the regulations for the energy credit which would exclude the gas upgrading equipment used to transfer the gas into the format for injection into the pipeline from the definition of Qualified Biogas Property.

Biogas at landfills, anaerobic digesters, wastewater treatment plants, and other facilities can be converted into renewable natural gas (RNG), renewable energy, and other renewable fuels with the use of gas upgrading equipment. The exclusion of this equipment in the Qualified Biogas Property definition could limit the advancement of biogas projects.

The IRS is accepting comments until January 22, 2024, and a public hearing on these proposed regulations is scheduled to be held on February 20, 2024, at 10 a.m. ET.

Please contact Kristyn Oldendorf at koldendorf@swana.org with any input on responding to this issue. We welcome examples of how the proposed regulations may impact any RNG systems and any other feedback.

Canadian Federal Plastics Registry

The Government of Canada is seeking feedback on developing a federal plastics registry to help tackle plastic pollution.

A notice of intent to issue a section 46 notice for the Federal Plastics Registry was published by the Government of Canada. The federal plastics registry will be an inventory of data which will require annual reporting by producers on quantities and types of plastic produced, their movement, and their end-of-life management.

The Government of Canada states that a federal plastics registry would provide a national single point of data collection, which would cover many types of plastic products and would have objectives to make data accessible, to provide comprehensive and comparable information, baselines for future EPR work, mechanisms to support EPR compliance, and to inform and encourage investment along the plastics lifecycle.

The comment period is open until February 13, 2024, and comments will be considered in the development of the section 46 notice for the Federal Plastics Registry.