Friday Buffet

Boom! Rhode Island’s state legislature proposes a landfill food waste ban and the private sector leaps into action, with news of a planned composting facility near Providence.

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I really enjoyed this Food Hacks piece on regrowing food from the ends and other undesirable parts of herbs and veggies. If I had any use for carrot greens, I’d definitely grow them from carrot ends. Although, in reality, I seldom cut off the ends of carrots…

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There’s been a decent amount of talk about supermarkets turning to composting contraptions like the Harvester. There’s this TakePart article, for which I was a source, and then the King 5 news story below. Overall, it’s a positive trend, but reducing waste and donating unsellable food should take precedence over any form of composting.


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On a similar note, hoteliers are warming up to composting machines.

January 24, 2014 | Posted in Composting, Household, Legislation, Supermarket, Technology | Comments closed

V is for V-Carrot

This past summer I shared several examples of alphabet produce. While I haven’t seen many of those wonderful oddities recently, given the decreased homegrown and farmers’ market produce, I recently came across this beauty on my last market outing:

This carrot makes a great ‘V’ and could even double as an ‘A.’ It also makes a perfect ‘greater-than’ (or ‘less-than’) sign. As in:  Carrot-with-character > regular carrot.

The internet tells me that you can use double symbols to emphasize your point, so:     V-carrot >> regular carrot.

And if you really want to get crazy, you could even use it as a circumflex (ˆ). Whatever you see in this humble carrot, though, it’s a good reminder that real food has curves. Or sometimes 30 degree angles…

January 16, 2014 | Posted in Alphabet Produce, Farmers' Market | Comments closed

2014: The Year of Food Waste Recycling?

We’re just beginning this new year, but talk of diverting food from landfills–be it by composting or anaerobic digestion–abounds. And that’s a very good thing.

In Connecticut, January 1st meant the start of a new law requiring some businesses within 20 miles of a composting facility to recycle their food waste. While the specifics still feel odd—food recycling is mandatory  for businesses producing more than 104 tons per year–the Nutmeg State is grinding toward sustainability.

image courtesy of Frederick County, MarylandDown the road, New York City is continuing to ramp up its food waste recycling efforts by striking a deal with trash big boys Waste Management. The company has started to deliver food waste to a Brooklyn wastewater treatment plant that is already converting another kind of waste to energy.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts is gearing up for July, when its commercial food waste landfill ban goes into effect. The state hopes the ban will help it reach overarching waste reduction goals and is providing some funding for AD facilities to beef up the food recycling infrastructure. And as with most things Massachusetts, the Red Sox are involved.

But how do people feeeel about composting?? According to a National Waste and Recycling Association online survey, people are into it. Of those not already composting, 67 percent said they’d be willing to if their city or town had a program. Yet 62 percent of respondents say they wouldn’t tolerate composting if it meant a price increase.

Looking into my crystal ball, I’d bet that food waste diversion will increase annually. I’ll be able to write this same post every January, hopefully, as each year promises increasing amounts of food recycling. By the economics alone, throwing food in landfills is a real …waste.

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Update: Rhode Island may be adding their name to this conversation! On Monday (1/13/14), Rep. Donna Walsh, D-Charlestown, introduced a bill to the General Assembly that would ban food waste from landfills by 2021.

January 10, 2014 | Posted in Anaerobic Digestion, Composting, Energy | Comments closed

Keep Your Waste Stream Relatively Clean In 2014

Happy New Year, y’all! As we make a boatload of resolutions for the year ahead, let’s put wasting less food at or near the top of our lists.

Providing inspiration, the European Union has made noises about declaring 2014 the “European Year Against Food Waste.” At least the European Parliament urged the European Commission to designate it as such. While that hasn’t actually happened, the urging in itself provides some hope. And the EC has put together a useful site with some helpful tips and an inspiring video.

Whether or not it’s officially adopted in Europe, let’s individually declare 2014 our own year against food waste. That might take on different looks, but it doesn’t have to include grand changes.

Here’s a tiny example of waste avoidance to hopefully inspire you to trim your own food waste in the Year of the Horse:

I recently bought a bulk pack of oranges. It wasn’t possible to see all of the oranges in the package, and I was disappointed to find that two had soft spots (as pictured here):

Rather than compost the oranges, I thought of how I might still use them. As they say nobody says, when life gives you damaged oranges…slice away the soft part.

As you can, the remainder was perfectly good…and perfectly ready for a smoothie. Two minutes later, my kids and I were enjoying a healthy, drinkable, mid-morning treat. And all because I didn’t immediately give up on a few slightly imperfect oranges.

So next time you’re about to compost or–much worse–discard some food, stop for a moment. Consider if there might be another use for that item. If necessary, do a little research. And I’ll bet that more times than not, you’ll find an alternate use for something you’d considered useless.

Let’s make 2014 a wonderful, waste-free year!

January 1, 2014 | Posted in Household, Personal | Comments closed

NYComposts!

Yesterday, New York City took a major step toward matching San Francisco and Seattle as exemplars of urban composting. The New York City Council approved a bill requiring large scale commercial operations to separate food from its regular waste stream.

The legislation, which requires either composting or anaerobic digestion for large food waste generators within 100 miles of NYC, will keep thousands of tons of food out of landfills. The law goes into effect in July 2015 with a six-month grace period without fines to ensure smooth adoption.

The measure passed the Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management, which also passed a bill banning single serving food items packaged in polystyrene, which will make it easier to recycle the city’s food waste.

Outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the bill’s proponents are confident that creating a steady source of organic waste will jumpstart the composting infrastructure. In addition, there’s talk of sending food scraps to an existing anaerobic digester at a Brooklyn wastewater treatment plant. The Committee Report (opens in MS Word), has full details on the legislation, including the somewhat-understandable typo “aerobic digestion.”

Mayor Bloomberg had this to say on the encouraging news:

Today’s City Council vote is a significant step towards our PlaNYC goal of diverting more waste from landfills. Over the past few years we have launched a variety of recycling efforts including the food waste challenge, through which city restaurants and institutions have already recycled 2,500 tons of organic waste.

December 20, 2013 | Posted in Composting, Legislation | Comments closed

Visualizing Australian Food Waste

Apparently, infographic month continues here at Wasted Food, this time for Australia. My favorite stat from Foodwise: Australia’s annual food waste would fill enough trash trucks to stretch from Oz to New Zealand three times! (I will refrain from making a lame Outback Steakhouse joke here.)

December 19, 2013 | Posted in General, Infographic, International, Stats | Comments closed

Lovin’ It

When I was first doing the calculations about the volume of food America wasted every day–the stuff that would eventually become the first sentence of my book–I couldn’t imagine that that Rose Bowl image would end up in one of those cool whiteboard animation projects. Well, it has:

More importantly, the video highlights the wonderful work that Lovin’ Spoonfuls does every day to combat food waste. The group redistributes healthy food destined for the Dumpster to those in need. And in case you’re still looking for a holiday gift, a donation to that non-profit (perhaps in someone else’s name) seems like a lovely idea.

December 16, 2013 | Posted in Food Recovery, Hunger, Stats | Comments closed

Visualizing Food Waste XXIV

I sure love me some infographics. This one, created by the Debt Advisory Centre mostly depicts UK data, with some global facts sprinkled throughout.

A few quick points:

  • Roughly speaking, tonnes = tons  (1 tonne = 1.10 tons)
  • I like how it emphasizes the magnitude of waste stemming from date labels and taking too much.
  • The Wembley Stadium factoid–UK food waste 2006-2010 would fill Wembley–highlights the size difference between Britain and the US. The latter, with 5 times the population, fills a similar stadium every year.
  • Love the helpful tips toward the end, especially #7!

December 11, 2013 | Posted in Stats | Comments closed

Let’s End Hunger

I consider most wasted food to be a lost opportunity to curb hunger. As a result, that should provide motivation to trim the former to chip away at the latter. Now.

In light of the holiday season, SNAP cuts going into effect and the movement for fair wages for fast food workers, it’s high time we consider the State of Hunger in the U.S. And Bread for the World just released their 2014 Hunger Report to do just that.

The report lists our inconceivable hunger numbers–the most recent ones, still from 2012–such as the 49 million food insecure Americans. Yet, it also proposes solutions. And not a moment too soon. Here are four solid steps we can take:

 

December 6, 2013 | Posted in Hunger | Comments closed

GOBBLE Your Way to a Waste-free Turkey Day

Sad news, folks: every Thanksgiving, Americans squander 400 Statues of Liberty worth of turkey, by weight. That’s a lot of forsaken fowl—more than 200 million pounds—and a sign of how wasteful we’ve become.

image courtesy of Wikipedia

It’s time we stop this Turkey Day tomfoolery. First, throwing away 35 percent of our turkey is oh-so-ungrateful. It undermines the spirit of the holiday and ignores the 50 million Americans who frequently don’t get enough to eat. The turkey we waste on Thanksgiving could provide a meal to every American in that category.

Equally important, our food waste—Thanksgiving and every other day—impacts the environment. The cornucopia of natural resources required from seed to supper plate goes for naught when we then waste that food. The water used to produce the Thanksgiving turkey we don’t eat would be enough to supply New York City for more than 100 days. And the greenhouse gas emissions are significant, as turkey production has the sixth largest carbon footprint per kilogram of the top 20 proteins.

Meanwhile, let’s not forget about the time and effort of all of the people involved in producing our Thanksgiving meal, from turkey farmers to family members (and the ultimate sacrifice of the turkeys that didn’t receive a Presidential pardon). Considering all that goes into getting our food to the table, the least we can do is use all of that turkey or get it to someone who will.

The simple conclusion is that we’ve stopped being thankful at Thanksgiving. That’s part of the story. Yet, considering that we waste 40 percent of America’s annual food supply, it’s also that our everyday squandering has seeped into our Thanksgiving routine. We lack not only the will to avoid waste, but often the knowhow and strategies to do so.

On that note, here’s a holiday-themed acronym to help you trim the waste from your Thanksgiving meal:

Gauge how many guests you’ll have and buy a reasonable amount of food. There’s a wide line between abundance and absurdity—try to be on the right side.

Offer food, don’t dish it out. To avoid unwanted foods or quantities, let guests help themselves. Buffets and family-style serving both help minimize plate waste. Meanwhile, we all should avoid taking too much; it’s easy to get seconds—or at least it should be.

Behold the bounty on display. Take it in. Be grateful and recognize that 50 million Americans and 870 million people worldwide don’t always have enough to eat. Eat mindfully and thankfully.

Bacteria enjoy Turkey, too. Don’t let your feast sit out too long—the USDA advises it be no longer than two hours. Refrigerate your food promptly to maximize your food’s lifespan by minimizing the time it spends between 40 and 140 degrees F, the “Danger Zone” where bacteria thrive.

Leftovers logistics are key. In addition to packing up the meal quickly, store leftovers in smaller, shallow containers so they cool faster and spend less time in the bacteria danger zone. Have plenty of containers on hand to send guests home with a portion of the feast. Finally, get jazzed about using those leftovers in new, fun ways.

Enjoy!  Don’t let thoughts of food waste dominate the day. Be sure to also savor the food and the presence of your friends and family. To put it in the words of the great UK advocacy campaign, think more about loving food and less about hating waste.

GOBBLE, GOBBLE, friends!

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The following Thanksgiving post is also running today on Food Tank:

November 28, 2013 | Posted in Events, History and Culture, Household, Leftovers | Comments closed