Category Archives: Waste Stream

Friday Buffet

Expect some laid back composting at Jack Johnson’s Kokua Festival in Honolulu. While I’m diggin’ the concert’s sweet poster, all I can picture right now is Andy Samberg’s J.J. Casuals SNL faux-mercial. — — Might Massachusetts ban commercial food waste from landfills? — — In the wake of Harvard’s experiment to do away with trays […]

February 7, 2008 | Also posted in College, Composting, Friday Buffet, Trayless | Comments closed

Wasted Gifts

Happy in-between-Christmas-and-New Year’s! I hope you’re enjoying the piles of leftovers and recycling the piles of cardboard. It’s never too early to start next year’s Christmas list. I can’t believe I didn’t find out about this NatureMill indoor composting unit until now. But since it sells for $300 ($400 if you want it to compost pet poop along with food […]

December 27, 2007 | Also posted in Composting, Household | Comments closed

Hotel Food Waste

The Chicago Tribune tells us that an average-sized hotel purchases more products in a week than 100 families will in a year. That heavy purchasing, much of which is food, leads to great waste. The California Integrated Waste Management Board says that the lodging industry in California generates 112,000 tons of food waste, 2 percent of […]

December 19, 2007 | Also posted in Institutional | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

From Kansas City to Washington, food scrap collection is progressing. The King County (Seattle area) food waste Web site is filled with useful tips and facts like: The average single-family household in King County throws away 45 pounds of food scraps every month. — —  Years ago, you left your heart in San Francisco. Today, you can […]

November 30, 2007 | Also posted in Energy, Friday Buffet | Comments closed

Gallery opening–BYO Wine

Today marks the unveiling of a new feature here at the site. Eagle-eyed readers may have already noticed the Wasted Food gallery, which can be accessed through the “gallery” tab above. I hope this exhibit “space” promotes discussion and raises awareness of food waste through art. I’m imagining “exhibits” will rotate through, and I’m open to all art forms, so contact […]

November 21, 2007 | Also posted in Restaurant | Comments closed

Digester Digest

British grocer Marks & Spencer is now powering a few of its stores with an anaerobic digester. The machine converts food waste to biogas, which it uses to create electricity. Plans are underway to build another, and the two digesters should power six stores. So don’t feel bad the next time you pay too much for the […]

November 8, 2007 | Also posted in Energy, Supermarket | Comments closed

Trouble in Paradise

Maui is facing a food waste crisis. A local pig farmer who took 3 tons of restaurant and hotel garbage daily lost his lease, forcing the island’s hospitality industry to find an alternate destination for their food waste. The stakes are high, as the county-operated Central Maui landfill cannot safely accept the combination of liquid […]

November 7, 2007 | Also posted in Farm | Comments closed

Win-Win, Thanks to a Bin

How do you get people to participate in curbside food recycling? Flyers, education campaigns and information kits are nice, but maybe a cool character is better.  Newmarket, a town of 80,000 a half-hour north of Toronto, did just that with Binny. This amiable rolling food waste bin is certainly doing the trick. Despite only starting in […]

November 1, 2007 | Also posted in Composting, International | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

While I just learned he is running for President, former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel just jumped to the top of my list as the only politician who laments wasted food. In the same fantasy world in which Gravel lives, I hope to be appointed as America’s first Food Waste Czar. But I’ll settle for Secretary of Food Waste.  — —  Good news […]

October 19, 2007 | Also posted in Friday Buffet, International, School | Comments closed

The Green Arches?

Say what you want about McDonald’s (and folks around the world have plenty to say), at least they’re experimenting with environmental responsibility. In the UK, anyway. The world’s largest fast food chain is currently undertaking two experiments. First, McDonald’s is finally doing what many companies have done–turning to biodiesel as an environmentally friendly fuel source. Sorry “grease car” enthusiasts, […]

October 11, 2007 | Also posted in International, Restaurant, Technology | Comments closed