Bill Text: NY K02131 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Memorializing Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim May 5-11, 2024, as Compost Awareness Week in the State of New York

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2024-05-08 - adopted [K02131 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-K02131-Introduced.html

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Assembly Resolution No. 2131

BY: M. of A. Barrett

        MEMORIALIZING  Governor  Kathy  Hochul to proclaim
        May 5-11, 2024, as Compost  Awareness  Week  in  the
        State of New York

  WHEREAS,  It  is  the  sense of this Legislative Body to memorialize
Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim May 5-11, 2024, as  Compost  Awareness
Week  in  the  State  of New York, in conjunction with the observance of
International Compost Awareness Week; and

  WHEREAS, The Composting Council  Research  &  Education  Foundation,
along  with  Canada,  Australia,  the United Kingdom and other countries
have declared the first week of  May  to  be  the  annual  International
Compost Awareness Week; and

  WHEREAS,  Materials  such  as  yard  trimmings,  vegetable cuttings,
biosolids, food scraps, manures and hay shavings have all been composted
and converted into a beneficial product known as compost; and

  WHEREAS, A majority of wasted food in the United States is  disposed
of  in  landfills,  where  due  to improper treatment, it decomposes and
releases 15% of our nation's emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas that
is one of the largest contributors towards climate change; and

  WHEREAS, Composting is an effective form of waste reduction,  reuse,
and recycling, and, since organic materials make up approximately 40% of
the  material  going  to  landfills  in the United States, composting is
becoming one of the primary  methods  communities  use  to  reach  waste
diversion goals; and

  WHEREAS,  Composting  is a way of returning organic resources to the
soil and is a way of conserving water during extreme drought or flooding
conditions, reducing water consumption and non-point  pollution,  and  a
proven  method  of decreasing the dependence on chemical fertilizers and
decreasing erosion; and

  WHEREAS,  Communities,  through  their  local  governments,  highway
departments, soil conservation service and extension offices, and public
works  professionals,  can have significant impact on clean water, soil,
climate change and landfill diversion by using compost for public  works
projects; and

  WHEREAS,  Soil  plays  an important role in our environment; healthy
soil is at the heart of planetary, agricultural and human health; and

  WHEREAS, Composting creates green jobs and infrastructure for cities
and states that implement composting programs; and

  WHEREAS,  Composting  is  an  effective  way  to  aid  the   Climate
Leadership  and  Community  Protection  Act  that was signed into law in
2019, with the goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions  by  40%  by  the
year  2030,  and  reach  an 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by
2050; and

  WHEREAS,  Compost  Awareness  Week  is  a  publicity  and  education
initiative  to  showcase compost production and demonstrate compost use;
and

  WHEREAS,  This  year's  theme, "COMPOST...Nature's Climate Champion"
was selected to highlight the role compost  plays  in  fighting  climate
change  by  decreasing  methane emissions, capturing and storing carbon,
reducing fertilizer inputs, and increasing resilience; and

  WHEREAS, By composting,  we  return  nutrients  to  the  soil,  help
capture  carbon  from  the  atmosphere,  resist drought and disease, and
provide fresh air; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
memorialize  Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim May 5-11 2024, as Compost
Awareness Week in the State of New York; and be it further

  RESOLVED, That copies of this  Resolution,  suitably  engrossed,  be
transmitted  to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New
York; and the Composting Council Research & Education Foundation.