[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]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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