Monthly Archives: April 2008

Watermelon Toss

Yesterday, I arrived at the grocery store just in time for a show. I pulled up as an employee was wheeling some trash and food (two different things) out to the dumpster. After tossing the clear bags of trash, the employee turned to the four watermelons in the cart. I sat in my car dumbfounded […]

April 29, 2008 | Posted in Personal, Supermarket, Waste Stream | Comments closed

T.G.I. Monday

Yesterday, I enjoyed the “Recession Diet” story in The NY Times describing how many Americans are skimping to battle rising food costs. Among other things, folks are buying more store-brand groceries and eating out less. On the latter point, this should lead to less food waste, as it’s easier to control portion size and leftovers […]

April 28, 2008 | Posted in Household, Supermarket | Comments closed

Friday Buffet: Campus Report

Don’t look now but “trayless” dining is really taking off. On Earth Day, 300 colleges with Sodexo (they’ve dropped the ‘h’) foodservice went without trays. That means I’ll be plenty busy updating my Trayless tab. The press release (and company blog entry) provided the first estimate of the water savings trayless dining brings–200 gallons conserved […]

April 25, 2008 | Posted in College, Friday Buffet, Trayless | Comments closed

Banking on Waste

I went to a meeting of the Food Diversion Task Force yesterday and left thinking about food banks. A representative from the local food bank told the group how donations are down significantly. As food prices rise and manufacturers consolidate, there is more emphasis placed on reducing “shrink,” or product that they can’t market. While […]

April 24, 2008 | Posted in Food Recovery, Hunger | Comments closed

Capitol Composting

Good news, America: Your congressmen are composting. Well, at least the ones dining at the mundane Capitol dining facilities. The Longworth Cafeteria and other federal feed halls have had a composting program since the fall. This composting is part of the Green the Capitol initiative, which is halving the amount of waste the House sends […]

April 23, 2008 | Posted in Composting | Comments closed

April 22 means…

It’s Earth Day–stop reading this and go outside! — Welcome back. Or perhaps you never left…Anyway, for your persistence, here are some tips to help you help our planet by cutting food waste: You can ‘green your refrigerator,’ making it more energy efficient and reducing food waste. You can feed your family for less. You […]

April 22, 2008 | Posted in Composting, Events, Household | Comments closed

Bottomless Waste

Our friends at Chili’s have found a new way to encourage food waste: The Bottomless Express Lunch. Not content with over-sized portions, Chili’s is pushing waste–and no doubt waistlines–to new levels with this new promotion. The price and use of the word ‘bottomless’ will likely compel customers to eat to “get their money’s worth.” That […]

April 21, 2008 | Posted in Restaurant | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Here’s an article from the newspaper at Iowa’s Luther College, giving the student response to traylessness. The piece was fueled largely by the Facebook group “Caf Trays will destroy the planet!!!! Really?????,” which prompted a letter to the editor complaining about a lack of balance. — — Food recovery in the holy land. Hallelujah! — […]

April 18, 2008 | Posted in College, Composting, Food Recovery, Friday Buffet, Legislation, Trayless | Comments closed

Food as Fuel

Somewhere, Doc Brown is smiling. OK, OK, he’s a fictional character from Back to the Future, but still… If Metro Vancouver gets its way, it will soon build a plant to convert food waste to fuel. Instead of fueling Deloreans like Doc B did, the plant could power municipal vehicles. Apparently, this is done in […]

April 17, 2008 | Posted in Energy, Technology, Waste Stream | Comments closed

Creature Double Feature

Oops. Even I forget about food every once in a while, discovering items after they’ve sprouted tentacles and started torturing the neighborhood. I’m disappointed about wasting my basket of potatoes, but also a tiny bit proud of how scary these spuds have become. The one on the right almost looks like a brain. Normally, when […]

April 16, 2008 | Posted in Household, Personal | Comments closed