Dive Brief:
- Vermont's Agency of Natural Resources released a map it hopes will simplify recycling and composting for residents in the Green Mountain State.
- The Universal Recycling Materials Management Map illustrates locations of facilities that handle food scraps, recycling, compost and trash. The map is a tool to help residents and businesses locate services they need to access to comply with Vermont's Universal Recycling Law, the first phase of which got underway on July 1.
- The law bans all food waste, yard clippings and recycling from entering landfills by 2020. 2015 will see mandates implemented that prohibit materials such as glass, metals and plastic from being landfilled in the state.
Dive Insight:
The map also connects businesses and institutions that produce food with food banks, waste companies and facility managers. The goal is to help businesses easily find alternative solutions to simply tossing the waste into the trash.
In November 2013, to help residents distinguish between the different categories, the state released a set of new waste and recycling symbols used to identify recycling, organic waste and trash for pick-up.