What Matters To You?
Whatever it is you can speak up about it! Whether it’s protecting the environment, supporting your community, or standing up for something you believe in, your voice is powerful. In this blog post, I want to share the testimony I wrote to support a bill about composting. Composting helps the planet by turning food scraps into healthy soil, and it’s something I believe is really important. I hope that reading this inspires you to speak up about issues you care about, because I know that speaking up about what you believe in can make a big difference.
Testimony in Support of HB 3018 – Food Waste Disposal and Composting Policies
Chair and Members of the Committee,
My name is Rosie Lanenga, and I am Oregon’s 2025 Kid Governor. I want to express my support for HB 3018, a bill aimed at reducing food waste and promoting composting.
As someone who cares deeply about the environment, I believe this bill will help us protect our planet and our future. Right now, too much food gets thrown away, even when it could still be useful. Food waste ends up in landfills where it produces harmful gases that contribute to climate change. This bill would make sure that large food businesses compost their waste instead of throwing it away, which is better for the Earth.
One of the things I really like about this bill is that it encourages businesses to separate food waste and send it to places that can turn it into compost. Composting is really important because it helps create healthy soil for growing more plants and food. If we can turn food scraps into something useful, we can help reduce pollution and make our communities greener.
I also like how the bill will teach businesses about composting. The Department of Environmental Quality will help them set up systems to properly separate food waste, which makes it easier for everyone. This is important because, if people know how to do something right, they are more likely to do it.
I understand that there are concerns about the capacity to handle food waste as well as its definition. I think it’s important to recognize that while composting isn’t as simple as just throwing food away, it’s still the right choice for our environment, and we can work together to find solutions.
I believe any challenges can be addressed through careful planning and investment. We can look for creative solutions! With cooperation between the state, composting companies, and communities, I believe we can make sure that this bill’s requirements will be manageable and successful.
In my school, we try to reduce food waste by recycling and composting. I’ve learned that even small changes, like composting food scraps instead of throwing them in the trash, can make a big difference. If more businesses and people follow these steps, we could have a huge positive impact on the environment.
I encourage you to help our state move toward a cleaner and greener future. I hope that the challenges raised by the opposition will be worked out, and I trust that together we can find solutions to make food waste composting easier for everyone.
Sincerely,
Rosie Lanenga, Oregon’s 2025 Kid Governor