In this Bloomberg article, author Shanker calls the problem of food waste in the US to attention. She addresses the subject of food insecurity stating that according to the USDA, 33.8 million people were living in a food-insecure household in 2021 (Shanker, 2023). At the same time, there has been an overproduction of food, causing massive disparities within this sector. Shockingly over 36% of food ended up in landfills (Shanker, 2023).
Food waste is also the topic of my capstone project (Bachelor Thesis). I am working together with the Center Country Recycling and Refuse Authority (PA) to divert household food scraps from municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills, in an effort to reduce emissions. Thus, the food scraps drop-off pilot project was born to turn household organic waste into compost. There are 5 local locations where participants can drop off their organics. It will be my job to assess the success and long-term viability of such a drop-off program based on the data gathered from the pilot project.
During the decomposition of such organic food waste in landfills, many potent greenhouse gases (GHG) are released into the atmosphere. In particular methane, a potent GHG, accounted for almost 15% of total methane emissions in the entire US in 2021 (EPA, n.d). Although landfills have become more sophisticated and regulated, they are still not a sustainable way of dealing with waste. There is no good reason why food waste has to end up in landfills. It can be instead used to create compost or biogas, helping to cut back on emissions.
Organizations such as GOODR are helping fight against food waste directly at the source, by engaging in food rescue and distributing it to the underserved populations.
I strongly believe that we all can and must do our part in reducing our food waste. There are many ways this can be achieved:
- Partake in composting (at home or participating in local collection programs)
- Buying less food at the same time (to keep it from spoiling)
- Rescuing food (buying from Too Good To Go…etc.)
- Looking at and understanding the meaning of ‘sell by’ and ‘best by’ dates
We should also be aware of projects, such as the app Too Good To Go, which connects restaurants, bakeries, and grocery stores, with customers to buy the leftover items from that day at a fraction of the price. This is a win-win situation as it reduces food waste and costs to consumers at the same time.
Reference:
Basic information about landfills | US EPA. United States Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). https://www.epa.gov/landfills/basic-information-about-landfills
Centre County Recycling & Refuse Authority, Pennsylvania. (n.d.). https://www.centrecountyrecycles.org/
Feed more, waste less. Goodr. (n.d.). https://goodr.co/
Save Food – Help The Planet. Save Food – Help The Planet – Too Good To Go. (n.d.). https://www.toogoodtogo.com/en-us
Shanker, D. (2023, April 20). The US has a food waste problem and it’s getting worse. Bloomberg.com. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-20/the-us-has-a-food-waste-problem-and-it-s-getting-worse