Top: Wrigley Field is an example of a large event venue covered by the new law. Most food scraps generated in the stadium are composted, according to Stephanie Katsaros with Bright Beat, Sustainability Advisor to the Chicago Cubs. Photo by John Nunu Zomot

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation, referred to as the Large Event Recycling and Composting Law, that requires large event facilities with a legal occupancy of at least 3,500 people to provide for composting organic materials, collected separately from recyclable materials, during an event held at the facility. It applies only to permanent structures, such as convention centers and sports stadiums, where large crowds gather for events that produce significant amounts of waste. Those found to be in violation of this law will face fines up to $1,500 for the first offense and $2,500 for each subsequent offense. The law goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2025. “Policies like these are such a great example of how environmentally friendly decisions are often also economically beneficial decisions,” said State Senator Karina Villa, an author of SB2876. “For instance, Illinois is already home to 110,000 recycling jobs. By embracing more recycling opportunities, as we do in this legislation, we can see recycling create up to ten times more jobs than landfilling, and composting can create up to four times as many jobs.”