Workers packing food, Vladimir Vladimirov from Getty Images Signature, Canva.
June 11, 2025 (Portland, ME) – The Maine Legislature has passed LD 1065, a new law that will help large food institutions – from grocery stores to college cafeterias – keep food out of landfills and incinerators. Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) urges Governor Mills to sign this bill into law.
“Many of us don’t think of supermarkets or cafeterias when they think about food waste – but that’s exactly where a huge amount of it happens,” said Nora Bosworth, Staff Attorney at Conservation Law Foundation. “This law makes sure large institutions do their part. When they step up, it has a big ripple effect – cutting waste, easing hunger, and reducing pollution all at once.”
The law requires these institutions to donate edible surplus food and compost what can’t be eaten, building a better system for managing excess and cutting unnecessary waste.
“Leftover food is a valuable resource – not garbage,” added Bosworth. “This law ensures that edible food doesn’t end up in a landfill just because it wasn’t sold or served. And when food is no longer fit to eat, the law requires these institutions to compost it – not trash it. That keeps nutrients in our soil – and harmful gases out of our communities. It’s a solution that reflects how food should be treated – with care.”
The law targets food that’s safe and usable – trays of untouched cafeteria meals, unsold bakery bread, groceries approaching their sell-by dates. Over one-third of the food in the U.S. is never eaten. And, depending on the year, food waste in Maine makes up from a fifth to a quarter of municipal solid waste. It pushes businesses to build a pipeline: first, donate what can feed people; next, compost what can’t; and only as a last resort, send what’s truly unusable to a landfill or incinerator.
Maine now joins other New England states with similar policies, including New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Rhode Island.
CLF experts are available for further comment.
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