Mandatory food waste recycling in San Francisco? It has been voluntary for a few years (using green bins like this minature on the right), but if Mayor Gavin Newsom’s plan is accepted, separation of household food scraps will be required. Seattle has already committed to that course of action by 2009.
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Here are some useful […]

There’s much discussion of rising food prices, but what does that really look like? Here’s a closeup. (Zoom in on the top portion.)
Like usual, the story is a bit more complicated than it may appear. As we see in the illustration, the cost of food is increasing in many, but not all categories. The prices […]

In food-waste-to-energy news: If the state of California processed all of its 5.9 million tons of food waste by anaerobic digestion, it would produce enough energy to power 75 percent of the Bay Area. This according to an East Bay Municipal Utility District study.
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Staying in California, The California bill to allow hotel or catering […]

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 at […]

It’s Earth Day–stop reading this and go outside!
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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 can compost at home.
You can […]

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 I see potatoes […]

Food prices are on the rise domestically (especially for pizza) and even more so in the developing world. While that may prompt home budget adjusting for some, it causes others to go hungry and/or take to the streets.
This weekend in Haiti, unrest caused by inflation brought violence and death. The Prime Minister (but not the President) […]

I was at a sustainable energy conference yesterday and someone threw out this statistic: From 1974 to 2003, the average refrigerator volume increased from 17.5 to 22.5 cubic feet. (Sorry, I don’t have a link right now.)
On the plus side, refrigerators’ energy efficiency has increased by 74 percent. The average 1974 ‘fridge used 1825 kwh/year, […]

Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) released a staggering figure the other day: 4.4 million whole apples are being thrown away every day in Britain.
That’s 12 double decker buses full. These apples are termed “avoidable losses,” meaning perfectly good fruit that could have been consumed.
You know the old saying: An apple a day…gets thrown away. Or something like […]

Last week, I wrote about having to buy a half-pound bag of bean sprouts when I just needed a handful. This week, in making an encore entree out of cold sesame noodles, I went to the Asian grocer nearby and bought just the right amount.
Not only did I preclude any extra sprouts, which I never […]