Monthly Archives: September 2010

The OC = Objects Composted

Wow, of all the places… Beginning in November, Mobile Compost Service will begin household food waste collection in Orange County, Calif. Participating homes will receive a kitchen caddy, and, subsequently, the company will receive a whole bunch of food scraps: Once a week, on a fuel efficient schedule, Mobile Compost Service will collect the contents […]

September 29, 2010 | Posted in Composting | Comments closed

The Homefront

I recently revisited a study on one community’s food waste. More specifically, an Analysis of a Community Food Waste Stream (The full study isn’t available for free, unfortunately). The study tallies the food wasted in upstate New York’s Tompkins County. The county seems fairly representative, as the lead author Mary Griffin told me by email. […]

September 27, 2010 | Posted in Household, Stats | Comments closed

Nobody Beats the Giz

I had a guest post on Gizmodo today and thought you should know. It was a neat chance to reach a different audience, and to be techy and punchy. It was also a nice opportunity to enjoy some awesome Lego-inspired artwork. The post prompted some fun comments, for sure (you should really scroll down to take a gander). But […]

September 24, 2010 | Posted in General | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Jennifer Rubbel, America’s favorite “vegetable butcher,” also makes art that calls attention to food waste. Or is it just a waste? Depends how you look at it. Here’s her take: People sometimes look at what I do and think about decadence and waste. They see 150 roasted rabbits in a pile and think it’s obscene. […]

September 24, 2010 | Posted in Friday Buffet, Hunger, International | Comments closed

Studying School Food Waste

Many folks, rightly so, are concerned about the quality of food that our public schools serve. A somewhat related problem is the amount of food (think gooey vegetables or rubbery fried fish) that’s thrown out. To help understand exactly what schools discard, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency just published a major study on the topic. […]

September 22, 2010 | Posted in School | Comments closed

Monday Mold Reminder

Just because your food has a little mold on it doesn’t mean you have to throw it away. With many, but not all foods, a little scraping, spooning, facing or cutting will remove the problem. As a general rule, the softer an item, the easier it is for mold to spread. So tread lighter with […]

September 20, 2010 | Posted in Food Safety, Household | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Should we freeze cheese? The Kitchn is glad we asked. — — The Independent, on Lady Gaga’s dress sewed from cuts of meat: Food waste is another dimension to the media furore surrounding her outfit, although so far nobody has publicly condemned the singer for “A terrible waste of prime steak.” OK, I’ll say it: […]

September 17, 2010 | Posted in College, Composting, Energy, General, Household | Comments closed

Reconsidering Recalls

Food recalls are the worst. First, they only occur when food-borne illnesses are causing sickness and sometimes death. Second, the mechanism of recalling vast amounts of food means millions of pounds of perfectly good food won’t be eaten. Stephen Jannise of Distribution Software Advice recently wrote an interesting post dissecting this summer’s egg recall and […]

September 16, 2010 | Posted in Food Safety, Technology | Comments closed

Donning the Cape

Composting and renewable energy company Harvest Power has a cool feature going on its blog. The Boston-based company is highlighting SSO (source-separated organics) Superheroes who are finding innovative ways to handle food waste. So far, they’ve profiled Atlanta’s Holly Elmore, founder and CEO of Elemental Impact, who responsible for setting up Zero Waste Zones in […]

September 14, 2010 | Posted in General | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

September is Hunger Action Month, courtesy of Feeding America. You can pledge to take action on hunger and help your local food bank win a truckload of food. — — Marin County (California) is set to go zero four percent waste. — — Speaking of zero waste, Mrs. Green over at My Zero Waste has […]

September 10, 2010 | Posted in College, Friday Buffet, Household, Hunger, Waste Stream | Comments closed