Curious about food waste’s environmental impact after it’s been sent to a landfill? A report from the UK provides the dirt on London’s food waste carbon footprint. (If you’re curious, here’s the entire report.) The headline:
Londoners produce food waste which emits 6.3 million tonnes of greenhouse gases per year, a new report reveals.
Just how bad is that? I’m not quite sure, since my last name isn’t Gore and the press release doesn’t provide any context. Still, I know it’s millions of tons more than there has to be.
The report uses the estimate that 25 percent of landfill waste is food, which is a bit high for the U.S. (it’s 18 percent here, according to the EPA). While our rate is slightly lower than Britain’s, I’d guess that we have a few more landfills than the U.K.
One final note: the City of London studied this topic. Can you imagine Washington or New York City having that kind of interest in the effects of food waste? Me neither.
3 Comments
Jon,
I can imagine DC or NYC having a greater interest in food waste; once your book hits the market, it’ll be like a ham sandwich from out of left-field (not a mixed metaphor, I swear). On a different note–I don’t know whether you’re on Facebook or not, but a group of students I am working with at SUNY Binghamton started up a group called “University Students Against Food Waste.” It’s right up your alley. It’s been around less than a week, and it has over 100 members. A student and myself are also taking photographs and posting them on there. Members are actually identifying their food waste from the photographs, which is quite interesting.
Peace and Love,
Dan
Left Field Ham Sandwich is actually the working title of my book! How did you guess that??
Just joshing, Dan. I hope you’re right.
As for Facebook, I’m a little afraid of the amount of time it will suck from my life…but I know I must surrender at some point. When I do, I’ll be sure to hook up with you guys. As for the photos, I’d love it if you added some to the Food Waste Flickr group. But no pressure.
Jonathan,
I gave an interview yesterday and then realized when I was all done that I forgot to mention anything about food waste! (Flog self with wet noodle, then work it into a casserole.)
I quickly sent an e-mail to amend my sorry ways and to elaborate about how food waste is both an economic and environmental issue, which was the focus of the article.
Getting the word out,
Katy Wolk-Stanley
The Non-Consumer Advocate
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
4 Trackbacks
[…] And from a health standpoint, allowing fresh fruits, vegetables and meats to spoil in our refrigerators increases the likelihood that we will turn to less healthful processed foods or restaurant meals. Wasted food also takes an environmental toll. Food scraps make up about 19 percent of the waste dumped in landfills, where it ends up rotting and producing methane, a greenhouse gas. […]
[…] And from a health standpoint, allowing fresh fruits, vegetables and meats to spoil in our refrigerators increases the likelihood that we will turn to less healthful processed foods or restaurant meals. Wasted food also takes an environmental toll. Food scraps make up about 19 percent of the waste dumped in landfills, where it ends up rotting and producing methane, a greenhouse gas. […]
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