Pennsylvania HR 327: A Resolution directing the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a study evaluating the feasibility of a multifaceted approach to decreasing food waste given this Commonwealth's current infrastructure.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 2351
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 327
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY GREEN, HILL-EVANS, KHAN, GIRAL, PROBST, PIELLI,
HOWARD, SCHLOSSBERG, VITALI, CIRESI, SANCHEZ, SHUSTERMAN,
PASHINSKI, O'MARA AND RABB, SEPTEMBER 26, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS,
SEPTEMBER 29, 2025
A RESOLUTION
Directing the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a
study evaluating the feasibility of a multifaceted approach
to decreasing food waste given this Commonwealth's current
infrastructure.
WHEREAS, Food waste is defined as a decrease of food in
stages of the supply chain intended for human consumption; and
WHEREAS, The United States Department of Agriculture
estimates that 30% to 40% of the food supply in the United
States is wasted; and
WHEREAS, The amount of food wasted every year is
approximately 92 billion pounds, representing roughly 145
billion meals' worth of food annually; and
WHEREAS, The PA Waste Characterization Study, published in
2022, revealed that food waste was 17%, or 1,593,109 tons, of
the waste in this Commonwealth's waste stream on an annual basis
and that edible food comprises over 72% of total food waste; and
WHEREAS, Americans throw away approximately $473 billion in
food every year, including food at retailers, restaurants and at
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home; and
WHEREAS, Food waste accounts for approximately 24% of
landfill weight at landfills; and
WHEREAS, Methane is released when food breaks down in
landfills, which is a greenhouse gas that is more than 28 times
more powerful than carbon dioxide; and
WHEREAS, This Commonwealth's Statewide network of nonprofit
regional food banks, and the nearly 3,000 local food assistance
agencies they serve, work to reduce food waste by rescuing
surplus foods from manufacturers, retailers and farms; and
WHEREAS, This Commonwealth benefits from several successful
food rescue programs designed to reduce waste by moving food to
individuals facing hunger; and
WHEREAS, This Commonwealth is home to thousands of livestock
farms, many of which already accept donations of food for animal
consumption; and
WHEREAS, Food recycling methods like composting or anaerobic
digestion can help in reducing the harmful impacts of food
waste; and
WHEREAS, Composting can turn what would ordinarily be food
waste into plant and soil amendment for trees and shrubs or
mixed in as topsoil, helping with water retention and providing
valuable nutrients for plant life; and
WHEREAS, Anaerobic digestion, which is the method of
controlling the breakdown of food waste by microorganisms,
releases a biogas from which methane can be extracted and used
to power engines, run alternative fuel vehicles and supply homes
and businesses through natural gas pipelines; and
WHEREAS, Food waste being repurposed and recycled for other
uses has both positive environmental and economic impacts and
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should be studied; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives direct the Joint
State Government Commission to conduct a study evaluating the
feasibility of a multifaceted approach to decreasing food waste
given this Commonwealth's current infrastructure, including:
(1) incentivizing additional food rescue operations to
enable safe and wholesome food to be eaten by individuals;
(2) incentivizing collection of food no longer
marketable to individuals for consumption by livestock to be
composted instead of landfilled;
(3) when and if no other option is available,
incentivizing the disposal of food at anaerobic digestion
facilities permitted to accept food waste; and
(4) requiring food waste recycling by businesses and
individuals within this Commonwealth given the current
infrastructure;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission develop
a report of the results of the study in collaboration with the:
(1) Department of Agriculture;
(2) Department of Environmental Protection;
(3) at least one nonprofit organization currently
engaged in food rescue operations; and
(4) at least one business engaged in composting or
biodigestion;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission provide
recommendations necessary or desirable for ways to improve this
Commonwealth's infrastructure for reducing food waste, including
a comparative cost analysis of compost versus landfilling
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organic waste and recommendations, including, but not limited
to, lowering financial barriers to compost, including
consideration of increasing the cost of landfilling; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission issue a
report of the results of the study and recommendations
evaluating this Commonwealth's physical and human infrastructure
for reducing food waste and file the