Food waste makes up a massive proportion of the waste sent to landfills. Since this material can be anaerobically digested and/or composted, states have recently instituted bans on sending food waste to landfills. The bans work a little differently depending on the state, but generally have two main components. The distance from composter/digester requirement is a radius (in miles) around each composter or digester site in the state. Any organization or business that is inside this radius AND generates more than the minimum tons of food waste is subject to the ban. There are few exceptions, mainly for public schools.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, organizations equal to or greater than the following numbers in size are likely to be producing more than one ton of organic waste per week.

Residential college or university:	730 students
Non-residential college or university:	2,750 students
Secondary school:	4,000 students
Hospital:	80 beds
Restaurant:	75 or more full time employees
Resort/conference property:	475 seats
Supermarket:	35 or more full time employees

Source: Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection

State:	Connecticut	Massachusetts	Rhode Island	Vermont
Date ban in effect:	1/1/14	10/1/14	1/1/16	7/1/14
Distance from composter/digester for ban to be applicable:	20 miles	No distance requirement	15 miles	20 miles
Minimum tons of food waste for ban to be applicable:	104 tons per year	1 ton per week	104 tons per year	104 tons per year