[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 5, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 84322-84323]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-26574]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OLEM-2022-0415; FRL-9825-01-OLEM]


Draft National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and 
Recycling Organics: Request for Public Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have 
developed the Draft National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste 
and Recycling Organics (``draft Strategy'') to help prevent the loss 
and waste of food, where possible, increase recycling of food and other 
organic materials to support a more circular economy for all, reduce 
greenhouse gas emissions, save households and businesses money, and 
build cleaner and healthier communities. Individually and collectively, 
the EPA, USDA and FDA are working toward reducing food loss and waste 
through their Federal interagency collaboration. This Notice provides 
the public with an opportunity to share input on the draft Strategy, 
which identifies the EPA, USDA and FDA actions and asks where they can 
work collaboratively with each other and partners to reduce food loss 
and waste and recycle organics. These Federal agencies are seeking 
public comment from diverse partners across the food system. The EPA, 
USDA and FDA will consider the comments received on this draft 
Strategy, finalize it, and begin implementation of the final Strategy 
in 2024.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 4, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OLEM-2022-0415, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/ 
(our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket 
Center, Office of Land and Emergency Management Docket, Mail Code 
28221T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: EPA Docket Center, WJC West 
Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. 
The Docket Center's hours of operations are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., 
Monday-Friday (except Federal Holidays).

[[Page 84323]]

    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID 
No. for this action. Comments received may be posted without change to 
https://www.regulations.gov/, including any personal information 
provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and additional 
information, see the ``Public Participation'' heading of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hannah Blaufuss, Resource Conservation 
and Sustainability Division, Office of Resource Conservation and 
Recovery, Office of Land and Emergency Management (5306T), U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, 
DC 20460; telephone number: 202-564-5614; email address: 
[email protected]. For more information on this strategy and others 
developed as part of EPA's Series on Building a Circular Economy for 
All, please visit https://www.epa.gov/circulareconomy.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Public Participation

A. Written Comments

    Response to this request for public comment is voluntary. Submit 
your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2022-0415 at 
https://www.regulations.gov (our preferred method), or the other 
methods identified in the ADDRESSES section. Once submitted, comments 
cannot be edited or removed from the docket. The EPA may publish any 
comment received to its public docket. Do not submit to EPA's docket at 
https://www.regulations.gov any information you consider to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI), Proprietary Business 
Information (PBI), or other information whose disclosure is restricted 
by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be 
accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered the 
official comment and should include discussion of all points you wish 
to make. The EPA will generally not consider comments or comment 
contents located outside of the primary submission (i.e., on the web, 
cloud, or other file sharing system). Please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets for additional submission methods; the 
full EPA public comment policy; information about CBI, PBI, or 
multimedia submissions; and general guidance on making effective 
comments.

II. General Information

A. What is the purpose of this request for public comment?

    The Draft National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and 
Recycling Organics aims to prevent the loss and waste of food, where 
possible; increase recycling of food and other organic materials to 
support a more circular economy for all, reduce greenhouse gas 
emissions, save households and businesses money, and build cleaner, 
healthier communities. The three Federal agencies have a formal 
interagency agreement focusing on the cooperation and coordination of 
efforts to reduce food loss and waste. To achieve the desired results, 
the EPA, USDA and FDA are seeking input from diverse partners--
including local, State, Tribal, and territorial governments; 
professional and industry associations; individuals, private companies, 
and those working in food and agricultural industries; academic 
institutions; and non-governmental and community-based organizations. 
The actions detailed in this draft Strategy will help the U.S. meet its 
National Food Loss and Waste Reduction Goal to halve food loss and 
waste and contribute to the National Recycling Goal to achieve a 50 
percent recycling rate by 2030, as well as contribute to global 
achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Target 
12.3. Preventing food loss and waste and recycling food and other 
organic waste will also reduce landfill methane emissions, in support 
of the U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan, which identified 
food waste prevention and organic waste diversion as the top two 
methane emissions reduction strategies for municipal solid waste.
    The draft Strategy identifies concrete steps, and complementary 
EPA, USDA, and FDA actions, that will help accelerate the prevention of 
food loss and waste, where possible, and recycling of the remainder 
with other organic waste, across the entire supply chain.
    The EPA, USDA and FDA are seeking input from individuals and 
partners on what additional EPA, USDA and FDA actions should be 
included or modified in the Strategy and how best to collaborate on 
those efforts with each other and partners across the food system. 
Specific actions ultimately adopted will be informed by evidence-based 
research to the extent available and partner engagement, implemented 
through technical and financial assistance, pilots and programs, and 
policies, where appropriate and be within each agencies' legal 
authorities. The EPA, USDA and FDA will consider the comments received 
on this draft Strategy, finalize it, and begin implementation of the 
final Strategy in 2024.

    Dated: November 28, 2023.
Carolyn Hoskinson,
Director, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery.
[FR Doc. 2023-26574 Filed 12-4-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P