{"id":4644,"date":"2023-05-12T20:28:42","date_gmt":"2023-05-12T20:28:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/?p=4644"},"modified":"2025-03-26T21:03:36","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T21:03:36","slug":"may-2023-clean-compost-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/may-2023-clean-compost-victory\/","title":{"rendered":"A Legislative Victory for Clean Compost in Colorado!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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As the Colorado legislature session came to an end last week, two bills that Eco-Cycle and our partners helped draft and advocate for are headed to Governor Polis\u2019 desk to be signed into law! Both of these bills will help promote an expanding clean compost system in Colorado: SB23-253: Standards For Products Represented As Compostable<\/a> will help reduce compost contamination by prohibiting false marketing practices oft \u201clook-alike\u201d compostable products, while SB23-91: Organics Diversion Study<\/a> will help the state and local governments understand the policies, tools, infrastructure, and end markets needed to divert food, yard trimmings, and other organics from the landfill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each year, Colorado needlessly fills up its landfills with food scraps and yard trimmings, composting only 6% of its food scraps<\/a>, yard trimmings, and other organic materials. When buried in a landfill, organics decompose anaerobically (without oxygen) and in the process become the number one source of human-caused methane\u2014a greenhouse gas that traps 84 times more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide<\/a> in the short term. If we turn these organic discards into compost instead of landfilling them, we can prevent methane emissions at landfills. If we then apply compost to landscapes, we can build healthy soils. Healthier soils grow healthier plants which absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it safely in the soil where it belongs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what the bills will do:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Standards For Products Represented As Compostable<\/a> (SB23-153) will reduce consumer confusion about the compostability of products and will significantly reduce contamination in compost by creating a clear standard for labeling compostable products by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n