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.

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
 1   Directing the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a
 2      study evaluating the feasibility of a multifaceted approach
 3      to decreasing food waste given this Commonwealth's current
 4      infrastructure.
 5      WHEREAS, Food waste is defined as a decrease of food in
 6   stages of the supply chain intended for human consumption; and
 7      WHEREAS, The United States Department of Agriculture
 8   estimates that 30% to 40% of the food supply in the United
 9   States is wasted; and
10      WHEREAS, The amount of food wasted every year is
11   approximately 92 billion pounds, representing roughly 145
12   billion meals' worth of food annually; and
13      WHEREAS, The PA Waste Characterization Study, published in
14   2022, revealed that food waste was 17%, or 1,593,109 tons, of
15   the waste in this Commonwealth's waste stream on an annual basis
16   and that edible food comprises over 72% of total food waste; and
17      WHEREAS, Americans throw away approximately $473 billion in
18   food every year, including food at retailers, restaurants and at
 1   home; and
 2      WHEREAS, Food waste accounts for approximately 24% of
 3   landfill weight at landfills; and
 4      WHEREAS, Methane is released when food breaks down in
 5   landfills, which is a greenhouse gas that is more than 28 times
 6   more powerful than carbon dioxide; and
 7      WHEREAS, This Commonwealth's Statewide network of nonprofit
 8   regional food banks, and the nearly 3,000 local food assistance
 9   agencies they serve, work to reduce food waste by rescuing
10   surplus foods from manufacturers, retailers and farms; and
11      WHEREAS, This Commonwealth benefits from several successful
12   food rescue programs designed to reduce waste by moving food to
13   individuals facing hunger; and
14      WHEREAS, This Commonwealth is home to thousands of livestock
15   farms, many of which already accept donations of food for animal
16   consumption; and
17      WHEREAS, Food recycling methods like composting or anaerobic
18   digestion can help in reducing the harmful impacts of food
19   waste; and
20      WHEREAS, Composting can turn what would ordinarily be food
21   waste into plant and soil amendment for trees and shrubs or
22   mixed in as topsoil, helping with water retention and providing
23   valuable nutrients for plant life; and
24      WHEREAS, Anaerobic digestion, which is the method of
25   controlling the breakdown of food waste by microorganisms,
26   releases a biogas from which methane can be extracted and used
27   to power engines, run alternative fuel vehicles and supply homes
28   and businesses through natural gas pipelines; and
29      WHEREAS, Food waste being repurposed and recycled for other
30   uses has both positive environmental and economic impacts and

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 1   should be studied; therefore be it
 2      RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives direct the Joint
 3   State Government Commission to conduct a study evaluating the
 4   feasibility of a multifaceted approach to decreasing food waste
 5   given this Commonwealth's current infrastructure, including:
 6          (1)   incentivizing additional food rescue operations to
 7      enable safe and wholesome food to be eaten by individuals;
 8          (2)   incentivizing collection of food no longer
 9      marketable to individuals for consumption by livestock to be
10      composted instead of landfilled;
11          (3)   when and if no other option is available,
12      incentivizing the disposal of food at anaerobic digestion
13      facilities permitted to accept food waste; and
14          (4)   requiring food waste recycling by businesses and
15      individuals within this Commonwealth given the current
16      infrastructure;
17   and be it further
18      RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission develop
19   a report of the results of the study in collaboration with the:
20          (1)   Department of Agriculture;
21          (2)   Department of Environmental Protection;
22          (3)   at least one nonprofit organization currently
23      engaged in food rescue operations; and
24          (4)   at least one business engaged in composting or
25      biodigestion;
26   and be it further
27      RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission provide
28   recommendations necessary or desirable for ways to improve this
29   Commonwealth's infrastructure for reducing food waste, including
30   a comparative cost analysis of compost versus landfilling

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 1   organic waste and recommendations, including, but not limited
 2   to, lowering financial barriers to compost, including
 3   consideration of increasing the cost of landfilling; and be it
 4   further
 5      RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission issue a
 6   report of the results of the study and recommendations
 7   evaluating this Commonwealth's physical and human infrastructure
 8   for reducing food waste and file the report with the House of
 9   Representatives no later than one year after adoption of this
10   resolution.




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