With continued national attention on reducing food loss and waste, ReFED and the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic are tracking and analyzing food waste legislation. Their biannual updates to the Food Waste Policy Finder provide a comprehensive view of state and federal-level policies and highlight the efforts to shape the future of food waste reduction. Advocates seeking real-time tracking for a variety of food waste policies across state legislatures can visit the 2025 Food Waste Legislative Tracker, created by Divert, in partnership with the Zero Food Waste Coalition and the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic.

Throughout 2024, we saw successful state legislative efforts to address food waste focused on date labeling and organic waste bans. That momentum continues in 2025, with Maine becoming the twelfth state to enact an organic waste ban and Colorado passing legislation that urges grocers to use “Best if used by” rather than “Sell by” dates on prepared foods. Many states are refining and expanding on earlier efforts, including bolstering existing waste bans and extending liability protections, while others, like Colorado, are tackling food waste on a variety of fronts, including encouraging schools to adopt food waste reduction policies.

This check-in highlights state efforts thus far in 2025 and reflects on where food waste policy might be headed next.

Food waste deterrence policies (such as organic waste bans) and standardized date labeling are two of the most impactful legislative tools for reducing food waste. State studies show that organic waste bans can create jobs and cut emissions by reducing food waste. At the same time, national standardization of date labels could divert at least 425,000 tons of food from landfills annually, equivalent to 708 million meals. Legislative activity in 2025 is evidence of the sustained momentum and support for both approaches.

Adding to the States Deterring Food Waste Disposal

While some states, like Washington and New York, passed legislation this session iterating on their existing food waste deterrence policies, we continue to see the number of states adopting organic waste bans grow. In June 2025, Maine passed LD1065, marking a major milestone with the adoption of a statewide organic waste ban. The law takes a phased approach that will gradually require more food scrap generators to divert waste based on how much they produce and how close they are to a recycling facility. Starting in 2030, entities generating more than two tons of food waste per week within 20 miles of an organics recycler (e.g., a composting or anaerobic digestion facility) will be required to divert that waste from landfills through composting, anaerobic digestion, or donation, and to maintain records verifying their disposal method. By 2032, the threshold will drop to one ton per week with a 25-mile radius. Covered entities will also be subject to an annual reporting requirement detailing the volume of food waste generated, how it was managed, and the location of processing facilities used.

Standardized Date Labeling Efforts are Spreading

Thus far in 2025, nine states have introduced legislation aimed at standardizing food date labels, a sign that momentum around this issue is building. Of these, only Colorado has enacted a bill (HB1166) which encourages grocery stores to adopt clearer labeling practices by using terms like “Best if Used or Frozen By” instead of confusing labels such as “Sell By.”

Most of the remaining bills take direct inspiration from California’s AB660, which passed in 2024 and set a national benchmark for food date labeling reform by requiring the use of standardized terms on all date labels (“Best if Used By” to indicate quality and “Use By” to indicate safety) and banning the misleading “Sell By” label on products. The law also clarified that food past its quality date can still be donated, removing a barrier to food recovery. States following California’s lead demonstrate the growing consensus that confusing and inconsistent date labels are contributing to food waste, and eliminating said confusion is both low-hanging fruit and high-impact reform. The appearance of legislation modeled on California’s new law demonstrates the power of how one state’s innovation can turn into a multi-state movement. This movement is taking hold at the federal level as well. In July, the Food Date Labeling Act was reintroduced, and for the first time with bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.

Conclusion

The first half of 2025 shows how food waste policy can spread. Maine’s newly passed organic waste ban brings all of New England into the fold with food waste deterrence policies adopted and scheduled to take effect in all states in the region, while California’s landmark date labeling law is shaping legislative proposals across the country. As we move into the second half of the year, it will be worth watching whether states sustain this momentum toward durable, scalable change.