Office of Legislative Services
State House Annex
P.O. Box 068
Trenton, New Jersey 08625
Legislative Budget and Finance Office
Phone (609) 847-3105
Fax (609) 777-2442
www.njleg.state.nj.us
LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
[First Reprint]
ASSEMBLY, No. 1439
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
DATED: FEBRUARY 27, 2023
SUMMARY
Synopsis: Requires each solid waste management district to develop strategy in
solid waste management plan to reduce food waste.
Type of Impact: Annual expenditure increases by local government units, annual State
expenditure increases.
Agencies Affected: Department of Environmental Protection, municipalities, counties,
New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.
Office of Legislative Services Estimate
Fiscal Impact Year 1 Year 2 & Thereafter
State Expenditure Increase At least $55,000 Indeterminate
Local Expenditure Increase At least $1.16 million Indeterminate
The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) determines that this bill would result in a one-time
expenditure increase by counties and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority
(NJSEA) – which administers the Hackensack Meadowlands solid waste management district
– to amend their solid waste management plans. The OLS understands that the administrative
costs for this process are approximately $5,000 per plan.
The OLS also determines that implementing a public awareness campaign would be the most
cost-effective way for districts to attempt to achieve a 50 percent reduction in food waste
collected by solid waste management districts. Several counties informed the OLS that they
have spent around $50,000 per year on similar campaigns in the past. Assuming that each
county and the NJSEA spend $55,000 to amend their plans and implement a one-year public
awareness campaign, this yields a total one-time local cost of $1.16 million and a one-time
State cost of $55,000. Multi-year public awareness campaigns would result in recurring costs
for these entities, while the implementation of other food-waste reduction strategies could
result in higher first year costs as well as recurring expenditures.
The bill would also result in a one-time marginal expenditure increase by the Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) to review and approve amended solid waste management FE to A1439 [1R]
2
plans and to develop the webpage required by the bill. Current staff using existing resources
could likely perform these tasks.
BILL DESCRIPTION
This bill would require each solid waste management district in the State (i.e., each county and
the Hackensack Meadowlands solid waste management district) to develop, as part of its district
solid waste management plan, a strategy to reduce food waste in the district.
Specifically, this bill would require each solid waste management district to develop and
implement a strategy for reducing, by the year 2030, the amount of food waste generated annually
in the district by at least 50 percent of the amount that is generated in the year this bill is enacted
into law. The strategy would be adopted as an amendment to each district’s solid waste
management plan and subject to the approval of the DEP.
The bill would require the DEP to develop, and publish on its website, a list of measures solid
waste management districts can take in order to achieve the food waste reduction requirement
established in the bill. These measures would include actions to prevent food waste and increase
the donation of surplus edible food, the source separation and recycling of food waste, the
composting and anaerobic digestion of food waste and other food waste diversion methods that
also reduce methane emissions, and public awareness campaigns.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS determines that this bill would result in a one-time expenditure increase by counties
and the NJSEA to amend their solid waste management plans. The OLS understands that the
administrative costs for this process for each solid waste management district are approximately
$5,000.
The OLS also determines that implementing a public awareness campaign would be the most
cost-effective way for districts to attempt to achieve a 50 percent reduction in food waste collected
by solid waste management districts. Several counties informed the OLS that they have spent
around $50,000 per year on similar campaigns in the past. Thus, assuming that each county and
the NJSEA spend $55,000 to implement the bill, this yields a total local cost of $1.16 million and
a State cost of $55,000 in the first year. Multi-year public awareness campaigns would result in
recurring expenditures to counties and the NJSEA. The highest-cost scenario would likely be that
municipalities are required to create new systems for the collection and recycling of food waste –
for example, a separate curbside collection system to pick up food waste and deliver it to a food
waste recycling or composting center. This scenario may cost the average municipality in the State
millions of dollars to implement, representing a potential total local expenditure increase in the
hundreds of millions of dollars. In addition, this expenditure increase would be recurring. On the
other hand, local expenditures on food waste-reduction programs that result in a lower volume of
collected food waste could result in an indeterminate cost savings over time from lower tipping
fees paid to landfills and incinerators. FE to A1439 [1R]
3
The bill would also result in a one-time marginal expenditure increase by the DEP to review
and approve amended solid waste management plans and to develop the webpage required by the
bill. Current staff using existing resources could likely perform these tasks.
Section: Environment, Agriculture, Energy, and Natural Resources
Analyst: Neha Patel
Senior Research Analyst
Approved: Thomas Koenig
Legislative Budget and Finance Officer
This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the
failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.
This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).