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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6684 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6684
To provide grants to reduce the amount of food waste, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 12, 2025
Ms. Brownley (for herself, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Casten, and Ms. Tokuda)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide grants to reduce the amount of food waste, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Zero Food Waste Act''.
SEC. 2. FOOD WASTE REDUCTION GRANTS.
(a) In General.--
(1) Establishment.--The Administrator shall establish and
carry out a program to award competitive grants as provided in
paragraph (3).
(2) Purpose.--The purpose of the program established under
paragraph (1) is to help reduce the amount of food waste by 50
percent by 2035, relative to such amount in 2015.
(3) Grants.--
(A) Study on food waste generation and food waste
management planning.--Under the program established
under paragraph (1), the Administrator may award a
grant to an eligible entity, excluding any eligible
entity that is a nonprofit organization, to--
(i) study--
(I) the generation of food waste in
the State or area in which the eligible
entity is located or otherwise serves;
and
(II) policies and programs that
significantly reduce the amount of food
waste, including policies and programs
to carry out food waste reduction
activities; and
(ii) develop a plan under which such
eligible entity will carry out at least one
food waste reduction activity, prioritizing
prevention to the extent practicable.
(B) Food waste data and reports.--Under the program
established under paragraph (1), the Administrator may
award a grant to an eligible entity, excluding any
eligible entity that is a nonprofit organization, to--
(i) collect data on the amount of food
waste generated in the State or area in which
the eligible entity is located or otherwise
serves; and
(ii) publish, on any publicly available
website (which may include the website of a
nongovernmental organization), a monthly or
quarterly report on the data collected under
clause (i).
(C) Food waste reduction projects.--Under the
program established under paragraph (1), the
Administrator may award a grant to an eligible entity
to--
(i)(I) carry out or otherwise support a
food waste reduction activity;
(II) implement a differential pricing
policy on the disposal of food waste to--
(aa) disincentivize disposing of
food waste by incineration or deposit
in a landfill; and
(bb) incentivize carrying out food
waste reduction activities;
(III) pay for or provide technical
assistance to carry out a food waste reduction
activity;
(IV) implement restrictions on disposing of
food waste by incineration or deposit in a
landfill;
(V) implement food waste reduction activity
requirements;
(VI) implement demand-stimulating policies
for recycling end-markets; or
(VII) carry out any other activity the
Administrator determines will reduce the amount
of food waste in the applicable area; and
(ii) collect data and publish reports as
described in subparagraph (B).
(b) Applications.--
(1) In general.--To apply for a grant under this section,
an eligible entity shall submit to the Administrator an
application at such time and in such form as the Administrator
may require, which such application shall demonstrate how the
eligible entity will use the grant in accordance with
subsection (a)(3).
(2) Nonprofit organizations.--In the case of an application
from an eligible entity that is a nonprofit organization, the
application shall include--
(A) a letter of support for the proposed use of the
grant from--
(i) the relevant local government,
territorial government, Tribal government, or
State; or
(ii) another nonprofit organization that--
(I) has a demonstrated history of
undertaking work in the geographic
region where the proposed use of the
grant is to take place, as determined
by the Administrator; and
(II) would not be involved in the
proposed use of the grant; and
(B) any other information the Administrator may
require.
(3) Prioritization.--In awarding grants under this section,
the Administrator shall--
(A) seek to award grants for use in diverse
locations and for diverse uses; and
(B) prioritize awarding grants to--
(i) any eligible entity, excluding any
eligible entity that is a nonprofit
organization, that--
(I) implements a program to carry
out food waste reduction activities; or
(II) has a demonstrated need, as
determined by the Administrator, for
additional investment in infrastructure
or other resources to be able to
implement a program to carry out food
waste reduction activities; or
(ii) an eligible entity that will use such
grant as provided in subsection (a)(3)(C)(i) in
a community of color, low-income community, or
Tribal community that has been
disproportionately affected by adverse human
health or environmental effects.
(4) Anaerobic digestion projects.--With respect to any
grant awarded under subsection (a)(3)(C) to carry out an
anaerobic digestion project, the Administrator shall--
(A) require that the applicant submit a plan for
end-product recycling that, in accordance with
guidelines the Administrator shall establish--
(i) provides for the use of the material
resulting from the project as a soil amendment;
and
(ii) ensures that the use of the material
resulting from the project does not create an
environmental hazard; and
(B) require the eligible entity that is carrying
out the project--
(i) to limit its use of animal waste to not
more than 20 percent of the total feedstock of
the project; and
(ii) to only use source separated organics
as the portion of the total feedstock that is
not animal waste.
(c) Reporting.--
(1) Effect of use of grant.--Each eligible entity that
receives a grant under this section shall submit to the
Administrator a report, at such time and in such form as the
Administrator may require, on the results of the use of the
grant, which such report shall include any relevant data
requested by the Administrator for purposes of tracking the
effectiveness of the program established under subsection
(a)(1).
(2) Annual report.--The Administrator shall submit to
Congress and make publicly available on the website of the
Environmental Protection Agency an annual report describing--
(A) the effectiveness of the program established
under subsection (a)(1) at reducing the amount of food
waste by 50 percent by 2035, relative to such amount in
2015, including information on the progress of such
reduction; and
(B) how the Administrator is promoting learning
among grantees and other stakeholders to better achieve
results.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $650,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2026 through 2035, to remain available until expended.
(e) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
(A) a State, a local government, a territorial
government, or a Tribal government;
(B) a nonprofit organization; or
(C) a partnership of two or more of any of the
entities described in subparagraphs (A) and (B).
(3) Food waste.--The term ``food waste'' means any uneaten
food and inedible parts of food.
(4) Food waste reduction activity.--The term ``food waste
reduction activity'' means any method or activity that reduces
the amount of food waste disposed of in landfills or
incinerated, including through prevention, rescue, upcycling,
and recycling.
(5) Nonprofit organization.--The term ``nonprofit
organization'' means an organization that is described in
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26
U.S.C. 501(c)(3)) and is exempt from taxation under section
501(a) of such Code.
(6) Prevent.--The term ``prevent'' means to forestall the
generation of food waste.
(7) Recycle.--The term ``recycle'' means to reuse food
waste as a feedstock for a non-food product.
(8) Rescue.--The term ``rescue'' means to redirect surplus
food for consumption.
(9) Source separated organics.--
(A) In general.--The term ``source separated
organics'' means organic waste that is separated from
other waste by the waste generator.
(B) Inclusion.--The term ``source separated
organics'' includes materials that are certified to
meet ASTM standard D6400 or D6868.
(C) Exclusion.--The term ``source separated
organics'' excludes mixed solid waste.
(10) Upcycle.--The term ``upcycle'' means to make new food
from ingredients that otherwise would become food waste.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
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