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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2292

To express the sense of the Congress to encourage the President and the

Governor of each State to carry out on-site composting at their residences.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 26, 1993

Mr. HOCHBRUECKNER (for himself, Mr. TORRES, Mr. FISH, Ms. NORTON,

Mr. WALSH, and Ms. MCKINNEY) introduced the following bill; which

was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

A BILL

To express the sense of the Congress to encourage the President and the Governor of each State to carry out onsite composting at their residences.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Executive Composting

5 Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds the following:

8 (1) The United States faces a crisis in munici9 pal solid waste management, due in large part to
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1 rapidly declining landfill capacity and growing public

2 concern about the adverse environmental con3 sequences of waste disposal.

4 (2) Composting, an ancient technique that pro5 motes natural decomposition of biodegradable mate6 rials, could be used to manage as much as 60 per7 cent of municipal discards, including such items as

8 fallen leaves, grass clippings, woody materials, and

9 post-consumer organic materials that are not suit10 able for municipal recycling programs. Homeowners

11 can naturally recycle their yard trimmings and

12 kitchen food scraps through backyard composting,

13 thus substantially reducing the amount of materials

14 they discard.

15 (3) Finished compost material provides a valu16 able soil amendment that can improve soil quality

17 and stability, help prevent soil erosion, and reduce

18 the demand for chemical fertilizers. Homeowners can

19 use compost produced from backyard composting in

20 outdoor landscaping or as soil for houseplants.

21 (4) The President of the United States and the

22 Nation’s Governors, uniquely positioned to lead by

23 example, can provide a model for citizen involvement

24 by composting their organic yard trimmings and

25 food scraps that are not suitable for recycling pro-
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1 grams. Such programs could include distribution of

2 the finished compost material to the public for use

3 in gardens and other appropriate purposes.

4 (5) A backyard composting effort at the White

5 House and at Governors’ residences would dem6 onstrate to citizens that each household has a role

7 to play in the solid waste solution, a component of

8 which may be recovering organic materials through

9 backyard composting.

10 (6) Backyard composting at the Federal and

11 State executive residences would also set a positive

12 example for Federal and State government agencies,

13 and could encourage composting of organic materials

14 on government office grounds.

15 SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

16 It is the sense of the Congress that, in order to en17 courage backyard composting across the Nation, the

18 President and the Governor of each State should consider

19 carrying out on-site composting of organic materials gen20 erated at their residences and grounds that is appropriate

21 for composting, including yard trimmings, kitchen food

22 scraps, and other organic materials that are not suitable

23 for recycling programs. The President and each Governor

24 also should consider distributing the resulting compost to
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1 visitors and local residents for use in gardens and other

2 appropriate purposes.

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