Dive Brief:

• Officials in Boise, ID have formed an advisory council responsible for reducing the volume of waste that is deposited at the local Ada County landfill on a daily basis. 
• The current volume is estimated at around 14,000 tons, and officials are eyeing composting as part of a plan to reduce that load.
• The spokesperson for the Department of Public Works in Boise, Vince Trimboli, said that there is no rush to lock into a particular program at this time. He said that certain elements need to be worked out, such as the expense to the community and what will be done with the large quantities of compost after its collected.

Dive Insight:

An increasing number of states are trying to use executive authority and local leadership to come up with solutions to low diversion rates. For instance, Maryland announced an executive order to increase its recycling, reuse, composting and diversion rate in an effort to reach ambitious environmental goals for the state. 

The Maryland plan includes organic and food waste reduction through recycling, composting, and anaerobic digestion.