Did you ever stop to wonder where all of our old wasted food goes and what a giant waste it is? Next time you throw that old takeout in the trash, here are a few startling facts to think about:
- Approximately a third of all food in the US gets wasted.
- The US alone is responsible for generating over 230 million tons of solid waste each year.
- According to the US Department of Agriculture, we generate 25.9 million tons of food waste in the US alone.
- Food waste is the third largest category of waste generated.
- Composting recycles less than 2% of our food waste.
As landfills reach capacity or are closed, we end up with huge amounts of waste that have nowhere to go. Even worse, the amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted into the air from decaying food increases exponentially. The obvious environmental and social impact of so much food waste is a little overwhelming.
As with anything, the first step in stopping any detrimental behavior is being aware of it. And then not contributing to it.
Check tomorrow's post to see how one company is attempting to solve the problem of excessive food waste in an entirely new way.
1 comments:
Composting is certainly an easy and effective way to eliminate waste and improve soil fertility. I've got a
special bin in my backyard that works pretty well.
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