Category: Food Waste

Historically, humans have had a close connection with food. In the United States, 90% of the population lived on farms in the 1800s, while today the number is only around 1%. Over time, the industrialization of food production has caused many people to become increasingly removed from what they consume. While living off the land used to be commonplace, we now can simply walk into a grocery store and be met with an abundant food supply. There’s no doubt that this has made accessing food easier for some. However, people have also become less connected to their food, leading to decreased awareness about food waste. Food waste is a major issue in the U.S. According to Feeding America, each year, 119 billion pounds of food is wasted in the United States alone. In this blog, we will discuss the main contributors to food waste and provide techniques for how we can prevent it.   

Waste occurs at every stage of the supply chain, from farm to fork. Businesses such as  grocery stores, restaurants, and businesses, account for most of the food waste in the U.S. On the production side, excess food gets left on the fields or discarded due to stringent cosmetic standards. In the manufacturing phase, byproducts of the produced foods are discarded even though they are perfectly edible. For example, when baby carrots are produced, the whole carrot is cut into the familiar small, rounded shape, while the majority of the rest of the carrot is discarded. In the retail stage, unregulated date labeling accounts for 50% of food waste. It’s commonplace for high quantities of edible food to be thrown away due to sell-by or best-by dates placed by manufacturers.  

By the time food reaches our plates, a fraction of it has already gone to waste during the manufacturing process. However, a new law was recently passed in the state of California and currently being implemented called Senate Bill 1383 (SB 1383), with the goal to reduce the amount of compostable material (food scraps, food/beverage soiled paper, and yard trimmings) that is sent to the landfill. This law targets businesses, mandating them to compost food scraps and for large food generating businesses/organizations to recover edible food for donation or work with an entity to redistribute the edible food.  

Although businesses create the majority of food waste, households are still significant contributors to the problem. At RethinkWaste, we promote the 4 Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot. We always recommend finding creative ways to reduce and reuse your food scraps before tossing them in the compost bin.  

While there are many ways to reduce food waste at home, being intentional about what you purchase and creating a meal planning technique that works for you is one effective strategy to combat food waste.  

• Create a meal plan for the week with the shelf-stable food you already have and go to the grocery store once or twice a week to buy specific perishable items you need for a recipe.  
• Store perishable items in a highly visible spot in the fridge so that you don’t forget to eat them. This is especially important considering perishable items contribute to three-quarters of total food waste.
• Reuse your food scraps. One example is using coffee grounds to make an exfoliating body scrub to use in the shower. With certain produce items, you can even re-grow your food scraps. You can also collect vegetable scraps in your freezer to make vegetable stock later.  

The last R in the 4 Rs is Rot. This is short for composting! Under SB 1383, California residents are required to divert compostable material to the green compost bin/cart as of January 1, 2022. Composting is essentially the food version of recycling, as food scraps naturally decompose into carbon-rich fertilizer under the right conditions. In addition, composting is a better alternative to throwing food scraps into the garbage because of the environment the food breaks down in. In the landfill, food scraps aren’t properly aerated, which causes them to release excessive methane gas as they decompose. Therefore, composting helps repurpose food scraps and avoid excess greenhouse gas emissions.  

If you live in the RethinkWaste service area, you may request a compost bin/cart from Recology if you don’t already have one. Click here to learn more about why composting is important, how to compost properly at home, and what does and does not go in the compost.  

From farm to fork, food waste is a major issue, but there are also groups of determined people working to eliminate it at every step of the way. We encourage you to join us on our journey to reduce food waste and divert organic materials from the landfill! Feel free to reach out with any questions or comments about food waste, SB 1383, or composting using the contact information on our website. 

Sources:  

http://www.pbs.org/ktca/farmhouses/sustainable_future.html  

https://www.feedingamerica.org/our-work/reduce-food-waste#:~:text=How%20much%20food%20waste%20is,food%20in%20America%20is%20wasted

https://refed.org/food-waste/the-problem/#what_is_food_waste

Californians throw away nearly 6 million tons of food scraps or food waste each year, which ends up being about 18 percent of all the material that goes to landfills (CalRecycle)! Methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change, is emitted into the atmosphere when compostable materials like food are buried in landfills. By promoting edible food recovery through programs and practicing tricks to extend produce longevity, Californians can alleviate food insecurity while reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Follow these tips to reduce food waste in your home and local community!

Before the Grocery Store

It’s easy to overbuy when food shopping blindly. Before you leave the house, take inventory of the goods in your pantry and refrigerator. From there, you can plan out healthy meals for the week – whether that’s a diverse menu or the same meal prep recipe. If something will expire soon, plan to buy ingredients to incorporate it into a recipe. Make a grocery list of the necessities and stick to it! This stops shoppers from purchasing excess perishable items, which ultimately creates more food waste. 

At the Grocery Store

Don’t be a perfectionist when picking produce! We all come in different shapes and sizes, as do our fruits and vegetables. Buying misshapen produce allows farmers to flourish and reduces “ugly” produce that may be disposed of at the end of the day. You can also subscribe to companies like Imperfect Foods or Misfits Market to receive farmer’s unique or excess produce, and lessen food waste.

Storing and Preserving Food at Home

A large part of a food item’s life depends on the storage and preservation methods at home! First, check the temperature setting on your refrigerator (40°F or below) and freezer (0°F). Make sure food is well organized and items that need to be used first are in front, so that older food is not lost behind fresh goods. 

Leafy greens should be stored in the fridge with a damp paper towel in a reusable container, while bananas, tomatoes, and others can be left on the counter. Potatoes, garlic, and onions can be kept in a cool, dark and dry place, while fresh herbs thrive in a glass of water. Another great way to avoid food spoilage is by separating foods that can easily go bad from items with ethylene (which promotes ripening). Foods that produce ethylene gas include bananas, avocados, tomatoes, cantaloupes, peaches, pears, and green onions. 

You can also practice fermenting, pickling, canning, curing, drying, and freezing techniques to preserve food for as long as possible. This is an easy way to always have usable and safe foods at your disposal. 

After a Meal

If you are unable to eat your leftovers within a few days, store them in the freezer rather than tossing fresh food. Fruit and vegetable scraps can be made into soups, smoothies, stir-fries, and baked goods like banana bread. You can also save produce stems, butts, and seeds to turn into new fruits and vegetables with a little soil, water, and sunlight. Using leftovers creatively is a great practice!

Any food scraps, food or beverage soiled paper, and yard trimmings should be placed in your compost bin to be turned into a nutrient rich soil additive! RethinkWaste service area residents can even pick up finished compost at our Shoreway facility!

If you have more food on hand than needed, please consider donating to a local food pantry. By practicing edible food recovery and composting, you are supporting California State law SB 1383, which aims to keep organic material out of landfills!

There are endless ways to reduce food waste which save the planet and your wallet. Finding any small or big changes that work for your household is an important step to address food waste and help California reach its goal of 75% source reduction!

Share with us how you’re reducing your food waste by tagging us on social media! Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Get more food saving tips at StopFoodWaste.org.

RethinkWaste held a webinar about food waste on August 27, 2020. This page provides the webinar recording, presentation slides, links to more resources, and all of the questions submitted by attendees. If you have additional questions, fill out the form at the bottom of the page.

Starting with what we can do as individuals in our own homes is one part of the equation in stopping food waste. When individual actions are combined, we can then make collective action within our broader community, including pushing for changes in policy or systems. But it begins with individual day to day actions!  

We hope you find the following resources helpful in your personal journey to stop food waste.

To view a recording of the webinar and the live Q&A, click the recording below.

If you have more questions, fill out the form below!

With the uncertainty of the pandemic, planning ahead is even more important. Not only can planning ahead help keep us prepared, it can also help reduce waste. This can apply to many types of waste, but today our focus is on food waste. According to the 2018-19 San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury Report, 71% of waste landfilled in San Mateo County is made up of organics. If you want to help lower this statistic, here are some tips we’ve found useful in preventing food waste.

1. Recognize your schedule. It’s important to realize how busy your schedule is and how that might prevent you from doing certain tasks like grocery shopping and cooking. You may even underestimate how often you get take-out and end up overbuying groceries, which usually causes wasted food. Remember to plan your schedule accordingly and it may reduce the number of trips you make to the store.
2. Keep a regular list of groceries you usually buy. Having a list of ingredients you consistently buy can help you keep track when you run out. To make it easier to access, keep it on your smartphone as a checklist, so you can have it at your fingertips. Your list could also include ingredients that last longer, like flour and sugar, and when you run out, it’s as simple as unchecking it on your digital list to remember for your next grocery trip. If using a smartphone isn’t for you, paper lists work as well! Leave a notepad and pen attached to your refrigerator so that when you run out of something, you can immediately add it to the list. Just make sure to bring the list when you go to the store!
3. Conduct an inventory of your refrigerator and pantry before grocery shopping. Now that you have your list, before you leave for the grocery store, do one last check to ensure your list is up to date. This can be helpful in case you used up an ingredient while you were cooking and forgot to update your list in that moment.
4. Plan your meals for the week. If you plan out what meals you’ll be cooking up during the week, you will know what groceries you’ll need when you go to the store. For new recipes, check the ingredient list and make sure to add any new items you may need.
5. Don’t shop while hungry. Going grocery shopping while hungry somehow makes you think you need to buy things you don’t need! Remember to have a snack before heading out on your next grocery shopping adventure.
6. Buy some shelf-stable foods. While fresh produce is great, having some shelf-stable foods handy (jarred or canned items) can help reduce food waste as they last longer. Just note that some shelf-stable foods may be high in salt, so be sure to balance it out or consider diluting it so you’re getting the right amount of nutrients.
7. Know which groceries will go bad first. When trying a new recipe, you might have to buy an ingredient you don’t use often or doesn’t last long before going bad. By being mindful of how long ingredients will last, you can plan your meals smarter and more ingredient-efficient. When it comes to leftovers, try and eat the oldest dish first to ensure you eat it before it spoils.
8. Preserve it by pickling. Fresh produce may not last very long, but you can make them last longer by pickling. Find a pickling solution recipe you like and enjoy your pickled veggies when you’re running low on produce or if you haven’t been to the store recently.
9. Save it by freezing. Whether you’re cooking a large portioned meal (i.e. a huge lasagna for two) or with expiring ingredients, freeze the leftovers if you don’t think you’ll eat the rest right away. This way, you can give your future selves a break by having something ready immediately. 

Follow these tips and you’ll be on your way to stopping food waste in your home! It can be challenging at times and you might still throw away some food, but trust that as long as you keep trying, you’ll get the hang of it in no time.