Food waste
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that food waste makes up about 21% of our trash in the U.S. That’s more than any other single everyday trash material headed to landfills and incinerators. That’s a bad thing for a number of reasons, including the fact that 20% of total U.S. methane emissions come from landfills.
All cities should provide separate containers and pick up of food waste from restaurants and stores.
Schools, corporate sites, homeowners and city facilities can do a better job of collecting and composting food waste.
Composting is a process that speeds up the natural decomposition of organic materials, provides a recycling alternative to tossing food waste in the garbage. Using compost as a soil amendment has a variety of benefits. Compost enhances rainfall penetration, which reduces water runoff and soil erosion. This in turn reduces sediment, nutrients, and pesticide losses to streams by 75-95 percent. Compost also improves the soil and enhances beneficial microbes that help reduce plant diseases and pests.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that if 50 percent of the food waste generated each year in the U.S. were anaerobically digested, enough electricity would be generated to power 2.5 million homes for a year.
And grow what you can. Follow the Dirt Doctor Natural Organic Guides.