Walmart recently announced that their California stores have reduced what they send to the landfill by 80 percent (since 2009). Food donations, composting and anaerobic digestion all play a role there, with their stated goal of eliminating landfill waste by 2025. — — A new UK study found that household food waste accounts for 3 [...]
Last week, the EPA released the latest version of its Municipal Solid Waste report. It’s a big occasion in these parts. If you’re like me, you eschew the fact sheet for the 189-page full report. Because the latter includes the all-important “products discarded” (on page 94). That represents what’s dumped in landfills, after recycling reduces [...]
February 2, 2011 | 
Also posted in Household, Restaurant, Stats |
Check out this neat NPR story on gleaning in Tennessee. Great press for the valiant Society of St. Andrew. — — Ag giant Archer Daniels Midland and the University of Illinois are teaming up to figure out how to avoid waste in the developing world. ADM is contributing $10 million to fund the Institute for [...]
January 21, 2011 | 
Also posted in Composting, Farm, Food Recovery, International |
The Composting World Cup?? Australia will host it in April. I guess that’s some consolation for missing out hosting the real World Cup in 2022. — — It’s definitely that time of year where pantries are busiest. Yet this year, they’re really struggling to keep up with rising demand: The Cleveland Foodbank has provided 50percent [...]
December 17, 2010 | 
Also posted in College, Composting, Personal, Supermarket |
It’s a bit of a leap from ‘Recycling Ambassadors’ to ‘Trash Cops,’ but that’s the very jump made in this AOL column. At issue here are the Los Angeles city employees–whatever you want to call them–who make sure Angelinos are recycling correctly, including mixing food scraps in with the yard waste. The ‘Trash Cop’ outrage [...]
December 6, 2010 | 
Also posted in Composting |
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 | 
Also posted in College, Friday Buffet, Household, Hunger |
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 | 
Also posted in Composting, Food Safety, Friday Buffet |
A late addition to the steam table: New York’s Dept. of Ag says it’s okay to change the sell-by date on food. The rule itself isn’t terrible, considering the sell-by date is aimed at stores. But it seems like a bad idea in that it could lead to abuse. — — A year into San Francisco’s mandatory [...]
It’s not every day that Prince Charles and food waste find themselves in the same sentence. But that’s the story out of Britain, as the Prince of Wales blasted the country’s squandering. “In this country we waste 10 billion quid’s worth of food every year – wasted. Is that really a sensible system at the [...]
May 28, 2010 | 
Also posted in Composting, Friday Buffet, International |
Whoa–just heard about Disney’s food donation program. They donate 50,000 lbs per month of food that has been prepared but not served! — — Hot diggity dog, Dubuque! The “Masterpiece on the Mississippi” is the first city in Iowa to offer curbside food waste collection. — — Was this Julia Child espousing food waste?! On [...]
April 16, 2010 | 
Also posted in Composting, Food Recovery, Friday Buffet |