Category Archives: Composting

Friday Buffet

Exciting news: the National Restaurant Association announced a partnership with the US Composting Council. We shall see what comes from this collaboration, but at first glance it seems like a major step in the right direction. I like the second item the best: “We are pleased to join with the US Composting Council to better […]

October 12, 2012 | Also posted in Restaurant, Waste Stream | Comments closed

European Produce Pondering

On Friday, I was surprised to hear the finding that 50% of Europe’s fruits and vegetables aren’t eaten. Turns out I missed one small word–that close to 50% is wasted. Not a big deal, though, as nearly everyone uses tiny modifiers for impact. With or without modifiers, European produce waste is shocking. Yet even worse is North […]

October 9, 2012 | Also posted in Household, International, Stats | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Wait, what?! According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 50% of Europe’s fruit and vegetables are wasted. I’ll have more on this staggering news on Monday. — — Lots of food waste discussion up in Canada. A recent report found that 51% of Canadian food waste comes from homes. I’m not sure I’d classify that as […]

October 5, 2012 | Also posted in Energy, Friday Buffet, Household, International, Stats, Waste Stream | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

It’s nice to keep seeing food waste in the news, especially without much of a peg. That we waste 40% of our food is news enough! — — The Great Corn Rescue of 2012. Music to my ears. — — This passage from The UN Dispatch is in reference to the head of Darden Restaurants: …even though […]

September 28, 2012 | Also posted in Restaurant, Technology | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Here’s an interesting nugget shedding light on how The Cheesecake Factory manages its kitchen inventory. Of course, nothing said about plate waste. — — An restaurant in Sydney, Australia will be closing because of diminished business due to the restaurateur’s strict rules–including compelling customers to ‘try to finish everything’ and bring their own take-home containers. It’s […]

August 10, 2012 | Also posted in International, Restaurant | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

A new study from USDA researchers puts the total cost of food waste at 165 billion–just for retail and consumer segments of the food chain. And–that’s with 2008 data. So the total cost is certainly higher than that. — — Residents of Le Sueur, Minn. are not thrilled about a potential anaerobic digestion facility that […]

July 27, 2012 | Also posted in Anaerobic Digestion, Friday Buffet, Stats | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

I’m all for a machine that helps determine avocado ripeness by tapping it and listening to acoustics. Coming soon to a UK supermarket near you… — — Great title: “Food, too, is wasted on the young.” (Think about it for a second.) And the article has some eye-opening stats on Australian food waste. — — Just […]

July 20, 2012 | Also posted in Energy, Friday Buffet, Household, International, Waste Stream | Comments closed

A Light, Summer Post

If this was People or US Weekly, I’d be okay with it. But I expected more from you, Bon Appetit. In a short piece on her morning routine, actress Piper Perabo discusses how she stores food scraps in her freezer to compost them at the farmer’s market (Union Square, I’d guess). Nice one. But my issue […]

July 19, 2012 | Posted in Composting | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

The same guy who brought you Let’s Be Frank hot dogs is working to transform potentially squandered farm products into shelf stable ones to be sold at specialty stores like San Fran’s slice of foodie heaven, Bi-Rite Market. — — Thumbs up for NYC School composting. Boo for photos that make the compost bin seem […]

July 13, 2012 | Also posted in Farm, School | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

In the UK, the quasi-governmental agency WRAP launched the Hospitality and Food Services Agreement, which allows restaurants to pledge a 5% food and packaging waste reduction by 2015. Domino’s, McDonald’s, Unilever and 2o-odd others have signed on in Britain. Exciting news, but I fear that the companies will focus on packaging (which would be useful, but not […]

June 29, 2012 | Also posted in Friday Buffet, International, Personal, Restaurant, Waste Stream | Comments closed