Publications

Model Policies, Ordinances, and Toolkits:

Publications developed by ELI independently, as well as for and in collaboration with NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). These model policies, ordinances and toolkits provide off-the-shelf templates that are intended to reduce the transaction costs for resource-strapped municipalities of taking action to reduce food waste.

• Model Ordinance on Mandatory Reporting for Large Food Waste Generators With Commentaries (July 2022)
  • Model Ordinance on Mandatory Reporting for Large Food Waste Generators Without Commentaries 
  • Mandatory Reporting for Large Food Waste Generators: Background Memorandum
  • Slide Deck for Model Ordinance on Mandatory Reporting for Large Food Waste Generators – ELI and NRDC can work with individual municipalities to customize this presentation upon request.
• A Toolkit for Incorporating Food Waste in Municipal Climate Action Plans (July 2021)
• Model Compost Procurement Policy With Commentaries (July 2021)
  • Model Compost Procurement Policy Without Commentaries
  • Slide Deck for Model Compost Procurement Policy – ELI and NRDC can work with individual municipalities to customize this presentation upon request.

Nashville Food Waste Initiative

Publications developed by ELI as well as collaborations between ELI and NRDC, during the pilot phase of the Nashville Food Waste Initiative (NFWI). ELI serves as Senior Strategic Advisor along with NRDC for the NFWI, a project of Urban Green Lab.

Reports, Articles, Factsheets:

•  
• Mayor Cooper's Sustainability Advisory Committee 2021 Report on the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County's Climate Change Mitigation Action Plan
  • Executive Summary
  • Overview of Recommended Food Waste Climate Mitigation Actions
• Landscape Analysis of Community Composting in Nashville
• Landscape Analysis of Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Food Scrap Recycling in Nashville
  • Landscape Analysis of ICI Food Scrap Recycling in Nashville: Executive Summary
• Nashville Food Rescue Landscape Analysis

Food Waste Initiative Research Brief Series:

ELI’s Food Waste Initiative is publishing a Research Brief Series to present takeaways from the Initiative’s research, spanning a range of topics important to food waste prevention, recovery, and recycling.

• An Overview of Multilingual Outreach, Translation, and Language Justice Resources (June 2022)
• Social Science Literature Review on Value of Measuring and Reporting on Food Waste (May 2022)

Project: Food Waste Co-Digestion at Water Resource Recovery Facilities: Business Case Analysis

Report and Toolkit:

• Food Waste Co-Digestion at Water Resource Recovery Facilities: Business Case Analysis

Snapshots:

• East Bay Municipal Utility District CA
• Hermitage Municipal Authority PA
• Oneida County Water Pollution Control Plant NY

Case Studies:

• Central Marin Sanitation Agency CA
• Derry Township Municipal Authority PA 
• Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts CA
• Stevens Point Public Utilities Department WI

Webinar and Articles:

• Innovations in Sourcing Food Scraps for Codigestion (Part I); Part II: Solid Waste Partners Drive WRRF Food Scrap Sourcing (Part II), (Biocycle, March 2021)
• Water Research Foundation webinar with Carol Jones, ELI; Mark McDannel, Sanitation Districts of LA County; and William Rehkop, Derry Township PA
• Successful Business Strategies for Codigestion at WRRFs (BioCycle, November/December 2019)
• Food Waste Co-digestion at Water Resource Recovery Facilities: Evaluating the business case can identify benefits to the triple-bottom-line (WE&T, March 2020)

Webinars and Articles:

• Real Benefits Fostering Food Scrap Recycling (The Environmental Forum, May/June 2019)
• Co-sponsor and moderator of the Community Composting for Nashville Webinar Workshop Series:
  • What, Why & How to Compost - An Introduction to the Basics & How to Engage - Community Composting for Nashville: Webinar Workshop Series, Part 1 (September 2020)
  • How to Set Up a Community Compost Demonstration and Education Site - Community Composting for Nashville: Webinar Workshop Series, Part 2 (October 2020)
  • How to Set Up a Pilot Community Composting Project to Receive Community Food Scraps - Community Composting for Nashville: Webinar Workshop Series, Part 3 (November 2020)

Reduce, Rescue, and Recycle: Other Publications

• State and Local Efforts to Divert Organic Waste Steadily Advance (The Environmental Forum, January/February 2022)
• Dialogue: Pollution Prevention and Rethinking "Waste" (Environmental Law Reporter, June 2019)
• Mulch Ado About Waste Handling: Community Composting Takes Off (The Environmental Forum, July/August 2018)
• New England Organics Disposal Bans and Processing Infrastructure (BioCycle, Sept. 2017)
• Reducing Disposable Plastic Bags in Food Stores and Other Outlets (The Environmental Forum, March/April 2017)
• Food Law Is the Next Great Area for Environmental Litigation (The Environmental Forum, January/February 2016)
• States, Cities Take on Food Waste (The Environmental Forum, March/April 2015)

Be sure to check out additional publications on our Partner Resources page.