Open Data, Grant Opportunities and Products Disclosure 

Open Data

Office of Environmental Justice grant award information is now available on Open Data. More than 103 DEC datasets are available for the public to analyze and use. Open NY is Governor Cuomo’s award-winning initiative of policies, programs and tools that provide public access to digital data for collaboration and analysis. Empowering the public and government with data for the digital age.

Food Waste Grants

Grant applications are now being accepted for the Food Waste Reduction & Diversion Reimbursement Program. DEC has announced $4 million in funding opportunities aimed at discouraging food waste in New York. Monies from this program will help food scrap generators  implement food waste reduction recommendations, purchase capital equipment used in food donation, and create, improve, and expand diversion efforts to on and off-site compost and anaerobic digestion facilities.

The funding is provided by the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) and is administered by Empire State Development (ESD). The New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (P2I) will operate the funding program, which will provide reimbursement to businesses that generate over one ton of food waste per week to offset the cost of select technologies and equipment that promise to reduce or divert that food waste from landfill or incineration. Eligible projects must reduce and/or divert wasted food at a New York State business including, but not limited to, supermarkets, restaurants, and hospitals.

Please see the press release and the attached documents for additional details.

For more information on how food scrap generators can implement programs to reduce and divert wasted food, visit New York State P2I’s Food System Sustainability Clearinghouse.

P2I will accept applications until May 31, 2020. 

Chemicals in Household Cleaning Products Disclosure

Manufacturers of cleaning products sold in New York must now disclose chemical ingredients and other pertinent information on their websites beginning July 1, 2019. DEC has released the final policy and form for disclosures under the State’s Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program. This program, introduced in Governor Cuomo’s 2017 State of the State, is the first in the nation to require the robust disclosure of byproducts and contaminants, as well as chemicals with the potential to trigger asthma in adults and children.

Additional disclosures required by the program include a prominent statement regarding the nature and extent of information being withheld as confidential business information; the listing of ingredients in order of predominance by weight; a clear method of indicating that a chemical has been identified as a chemical of concern; the provision of a toll-free number to answer consumer requests for more information; and the posting of studies the manufacturer has conducted on the health and environmental effects of any of its products and ingredients.

DEC is also working with the Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse to develop and maintain a database of links to the disclosed information for ease of consumer access.

Please see the press release for additional details.

More information about the Household Cleansing Product Information Disclosure Program and the certification form can be found on DEC’s website.