Monthly Archives: July 2010

Friday Buffet

Huge news in the world of food waste: A new study out of the Univ. of Texas at Austin finds that the food America wastes represents about 2 percent of our total energy output. And, as the study’s authors note, it’s a conservative estimate because they use the 1995 estimate of 27 percent waste. New […]

July 30, 2010 | Posted in Composting, Friday Buffet, Household, Supermarket | Comments closed

Former Joe Head Tackling Waste?

I came across this brief piece on Doug Rauch, the former Trader Joe’s head who is now at Harvard strategizing on how to end food waste. It’s the first I hear about it, but I was excited to hear that someone with that much industry know-how is studying the issue. I’m curious to hear what his […]

July 26, 2010 | Posted in Food Recovery, Supermarket | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Update: This one slipped by me, but Diana F. tipped me off to the great news that the LA City Council voted to make city departments create policies for donating leftover food from events. — — Excessive food waste in the House of Commons tea rooms means there are fat mice in the halls of […]

July 23, 2010 | Posted in Anaerobic Digestion, Composting, Friday Buffet, International | Comments closed

Out-and-out self-promotion

Sorry for the shamelessness I don’t feel too bad about shamelessly sharing these two bits of info. This won’t be new to those of you who follow my Twitter feed or this site’s Facebook page.  (more shamelessness–likely too much) Anyway, my book is now available for pre-order on Amazon. In addition to being really, really […]

July 21, 2010 | Posted in Personal | Comments closed

Carrot Top Flop?

This is my first year growing carrots and I’ve been surprised by how verdant the greens have remained through the North Carolina heat. Sunday, I dug up a few carrots, leaving me with a mass of tops. Not one to casually discard anything even possibly edible, I wondered what one could do with these carrot […]

July 19, 2010 | Posted in Household, Personal | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Courtesy of the NY Times’  City Room Blog, Answers from a Garbologist Part I and Part II. Here’s the best line from first part: Products most often discarded without being used: vegetables. — — The people have spoken on the 5-Second Rule. Well, at least they’ve participated in a poll. — — Dan Sullivan kills […]

July 16, 2010 | Posted in Composting, Food Safety, Friday Buffet, Waste Stream | Comments closed

Crunchy Composting

After hearing the news that SunChips were now sold in compostable bags–sorry, “‘chip package”–I finally got a chance to inspect a bag up-close and personal. I’m not much of a chip purchaser, but I was happy to kick the tires when a bag showed up in my kitchen yesterday. My first reaction was: ‘Holy crap, […]

July 14, 2010 | Posted in Composting, Household, Personal | Comments closed

Well done, Oregon

Salem, Ore., began curbside compost collection last week. And the state capital seems to be making a real effort to do it right, if this super-useful Q & A is any indication. Now I hear that the neighboring city of Keizer will start their own food waste collection on September 1. That’s great news. But […]

July 12, 2010 | Posted in Composting | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Slate’s Green Lantern provides what I think is the best ‘tips to reduce your food waste’ piece I’ve ever seen. — — Following up on that, the Dollars and Sense blog from the San Francisco Chronicle echoed those tips. — — I think I’m in love…with my wife, of course. But Miss Almeda is really […]

July 9, 2010 | Posted in Anaerobic Digestion, Composting, Friday Buffet, Household | Comments closed

More Buns

Last year, I wrote about having extra hamburger buns and turning them into French toast. And prior to that, I got some great ideas on what to do with extra hot dog buns. Well, this past weekend I found myself in a similar situation, only this time with sub rolls. I bought the rolls to […]

July 8, 2010 | Posted in Personal | Comments closed