Giving Compass' Take:

• This article highlights an ambitious bill that aims to help the city reach "zero waste" by 2032 through new compost requirements and recycling programs for sharps and batteries.

• How can we create a sustainable and environmentally friendly food system? What can we learn from the zero food waste movement?

• Learn more about ways to reduce your food waste. 

The nation's capital is eyeing a major shift in how the city handles its waste, with outsized implications for organics and recycling.

Introduced last month by Council Member Mary Cheh, the “Zero Waste Omnibus Amendment Act of 2019” is part of a larger effort to ensure that Washington, DC remains on track to meet its goal of achieving "zero waste" by 2032. That benchmark, established in 2013, calls for 80% waste diversion in just over a decade. DC is lagging behind with a current citywide diversion rate of 23%. While not directly comparable, its rate is lower than some cities and counties with similar attributes.

Cheh, who is chair for the council's Committee on Transportation and the Environment, hopes to change that.

"[W]aste generation has harmful effects on our environment, health, and safety," Cheh said in a statement to Waste Dive, pointing to pollution issues along with methane emissions. In DC, Cheh said, waste is often hauled outside the city, leaving residents free to avoid worrying about it. She hopes her bill will change that by "improving our waste management system from multiple angles" and dramatically shifting the city's relationship with waste.

Read the full article about a zero waste bill by E.A. Crunden at Smart Cities Dive.