BENEFITS Food Waste Recycling Food Waste recycling in the past has not been feasible because of the

difficulties associated with managing and recycling food waste. However an increasing demand for food waste recycling, has led Commercial Recycling to invest in creating a viable food waste recycling service for businesses throughout Dorset, Somerset and Bristol. Customers of our food waste recycling service are given bio-degradable sacks for use within their premises, which when filled can be disposed of in their external Food Waste recycling bin. Benefits of our food waste recycling service: Flexible collection days to prevent any build ups in food waste Internal & external food waste disposal containers Increased recycling levels Reduction in general waste disposal charges Food waste is recycled through industry leading companies such as New Earth Solutions Food Waste Composting / A Necessary Resource One of the most important necessities in our daily lives is food. We would not be able to survive without it. And since we consume it every day, it is also the major source of waste. Excess trimmings of meat and vegetables, cooked or uncooked leftovers, fruits, and all of the edible matters that are usually found in our kitchens come in just small quantities. Hotels, restaurants, food chains, food factories, and big establishments have bigger contributions to add to the mix. Imagine how much food waste we produce in just a day, and how we produce such each and every day. It just adds up and continuously adding up. Where does all of that go? Every bit of waste is not worthless if we only realize how we can still make use of it and how it can actually help our environment perform the cycle of life.

Environmental Benefits Not only does this wasted valuable resource have huge economic impacts, it also has huge and immediate environmental impacts. When food is disposed in a landfill it quickly rots and becomes a significant source of methane a potent greenhouse gas with 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. Landfills are a major source of human-related methane in the United States, accounting for more than 20 percent of all methane emissions. Reducing, recovering, and recycling food waste diverts organic materials from landfills and incinerators, reducing GHG emissions from landfills and waste combustion. The use of recycled food waste (compost) has many environmental benefits such as: improving soil health and structure; increasing drought resistance; and reducing the need for supplemental water, fertilizers, and pesticides.

An additional benefit of food waste reduction, donation, and composting is improved sanitation, public safety and health for both your facility and community. Food wastes dumped in standard trash cans and dumpsters in the back ally of a home, store or restaurant can attract rodents and insects, as well as generate bad odors. By placing food scraps in a closed, leakproof, durable, and reusable container, and having it frequently picked up for donation or composting you can significantly reduce, and even eliminate the these problems. Food waste includes uneaten food and food preparation scraps from residences or households, commercial establishments like restaurants, grocery stores, cafeterias and industrial sources.Generating food waste has significant economic as well as environmental consequences. Whether youre an individual, family, or business, chances are a considerable portion of your budget goes towards buying food either for you, your family, or your customers. And since we now throw away more food than anything else, that means we are throwing away a lot of our money. Often, simple changes in food purchasing, storage and preparation practices can yield significant reductions in food waste generation. Not only will this reduce waste, but it will make your food dollars go further. Food waste cost savings have even greater potential at commercial establishments. Saving food means saving money. Food waste now accounts for more than one quarter of the total freshwater consumption and wastes more than 300 million barrels of oil per year, according to a recently released study The Progressive Increase of Food Waste in America and Its Environmental Impact by Kevin D. Hall, Juen Guo, Michael Dore, Carson C. Chow. The study, published in the Public Library of Science, found that US food waste is on the increase and is a significant contributor to the excess consumption of freshwater and fossil fuels both of which are impacting global climate change. Each year more than 40% of the entire food system is wasted, this is much more than the 13% previously thought. The new figures, representing a more comprehensive study of the food system in its entirety, include everything from the field to the processing plant to stores and supermarkets, and finally in our homes. Aside from the significant squandering of fossil fuel resources and freshwater, the food waste is further contributing to climate change via the methane produced by the wasted food rotting in landfills.

It Works For businesses that generate large volumes of food waste, recycling works. Hard Rock Cafe. Foodland. Sheraton Hotels. Hilton Hawaiian Village. Theyre just a few of the corporations that have discovered the advantages of food waste recycling. Large companies that generate large volumes of food waste have been able to derive economic benefit from recycling. Although they incur an additional cost to separately collect the food waste, that cost is counter-balanced by a reduction in their waste disposal costs. When large volumes of food waste are removed from the business' general waste, there is an opportunity to reduce disposal costs by reducing the number of dumpsters and/or the pickup frequency. This also reduces weight, which is another measure by which businesses are charged for waste disposal.

Its Good for the Environment Recycling and composting will reduce the amount of waste going to City disposal sites. Existing landfills will last longer. Expensive expansions to H-POWER may not be needed. And separate collection of food waste for recycling may make the environment immediately surrounding your facility neater, cleaner and fresher-smelling.
What are the benefits of collecting food waste?

Collecting food waste separately for recycling offers a wide range of potential benefits, including: contributing to targets for diverting biodegradable waste from landfill improving recycling rates reducing waste disposal costs as landfill costs increase reducing environmental impacts associated with landfill (toxicity in leachate, landfill gas emissions, and so on) reducing greenhouse gas emissions by removing the putrescent content from landfill sites production of compost and liquid fertilisers for use as a soil improver complementing alternate weekly collections of non-recyclable waste by collecting the odorous fraction weekly.

In 2009, the Ramsey County Care Center greened up its operations by separating its food waste from garbage and recycling it by feeding it to livestock. Saint Therese of New Hope, Saint Therese at Oxbow Lake and Presbyterian Homes in Roseville and Arden Hills has also launched food waste recycling programs. By separating food scraps for recycling, these organizations save money by reducing: (1) the volume and weight of garbage they have to haul away; and (2) their use of garbage disposals and the number of plumbing and sewer emergencies they have to respond to. Food waste recycling is an easy way for long term care providers to save money, green up and minimize their carbon footprints.

Why are we doing this? Over 40% of waste in the average household is food waste. When this decomposes in a landfill it produces methane gas, a major cause of global warming. It is important that we all do what we can to reduce food waste going to landfill as it generates powerful greenhouse gases and is costing all of us a lot of money. It will also extend the life of the landfill and put off the major costs of building a new one.
Reduces the odour caused by rotting food waste in your general rubbish bin. The lockable outside bin deters pests. It could reduce your general rubbish by up to 40%. Gives you the opportunity to recycle more of your waste. Reduces the amount of methane gas produced in landfill sites, a major cause of global warming. Helps South Waikato District Council (and ultimately residents) to keep down the cost of waste disposal in landfills. By recycling we can help sustain natural resources and leave the world a better place for our children and grand children. Its easy and convenient with weekly kerbside collection along with other waste.

Bringing the community together

As a not-for-profit organisation, Aardvark Recycling has brought more to the community than recycling food waste. Their Real Nappies Laundering service collects dirty reusable nappies and delivers clean ones in the same visit, helping to reduce the number that end up in landfill each year. In another scheme, Aardvark is providing locally sourced fruit boxes to Stockwells Resource Centre Breakfast Club. The scheme hopes to encourage healthy eating while also promoting the environmental benefits of locally sourced food. When it comes to food waste recycling in high density population areas (although the initial costs can seem high) there are many benefits that a social enterprise, like Aardvark Recycling, can bring; educating and encouraging local residents to change their shopping habits; reducing waste-to-landfill; reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions; bringing the community together; and providing a valuable resource from an environmentally damaging waste product an added value that a local authority or private enterprise would have a hard time achieving. Not only does food loss represent a significant waste of financial resources for individual households and businesses it also contributes to pollution and wasteful consumption of resources. EFFECTS The impact of domestic food waste on climate change
It is estimated that food wasted by the US and Europe could feed the world three times over. Food waste contributes to excess consumption of freshwater and fossil fuels which, along with methane and CO2 emissions from decomposing food, impacts global climate change. Every tonne of food waste prevented has the potential to save 4.2 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. If we all stop wasting food that could have been eaten, the CO2 impact would be the equivalent of taking one in four cars off the road.

Each and every one of us has a duty to ensure we live in an environment which is both healthy and sustainable. It has long been known that our actions in creating greenhouse gasses has resulted in climate change and unless we all reduce these emissions drastically it will have damaging effects on our planet and economy. Reducing the amount of food waste has been deemed critical if the UK is to meet international targets on climate change, limiting greenhouse gas emissions, and meet obligations under the European Landfill Directive to reduce biodegradable waste going to landfill. Food waste was discussed at the 34th G8 summit with Prime Minister Gordon Brown saying We must do more to deal with unnecessary demand and do more to cut food waste In June 2009, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn announced the governments War on waste, a programme aimed at reducing Britains food waste. The proposed plans under the scheme include: scrapping best before and limiting sell by labels on food, creating new food packaging sizes, constructing more on-the-go recycling points and unveiling five flagship anaerobic digestion plants. Two years after its launch, the Love

Food, Hate Waste campaign is claiming it has already prevented 137,000 tonnes of waste and, through the help it has given to over two million households, has made savings of 300 million. The food industry produces large amounts of food waste, with retailers alone generating 1,600,000 tonnes of food waste per year very little of this waste is recycled and goes to landfill. The food supply chain accounts for a fifth of UK carbon emissions. The effects of stopping food waste that can potentially be prevented have been likened to removing one in five cars from UK roads. How hygienic are the new collections? Im worried about rats, flies, smellsThe new collections will be a lot cleaner and more hygienic. Before the introduction of the new service food waste was usually mixed with other waste in black sacks. This made the sacks prone to attack from pests such as animals and birds. The new food waste collections should put an end to these problems. To start with, you have been given special compostable liners in which to seal your food waste. You have also been given a lockable food bin to put your full liners in when you put it out for collection. Just make sure you tie up your liners securely and regularly put these into the outside food waste bin. Using the new containers and liners should mean an end to problems such as odour, maggots and ripped bin bags. Why is recycling our food waste important? We are all aware of the problems caused by too much packaging, but did you know that as householders, about a third of all the waste we throw away is food? Food waste gives off methane which contributes to greenhouse gases. By recycling it instead, we will reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill and help tackle the causes and effects of climate change. This is a national issue and we have been set targets to reduce how much organic waste, such as food, that we send to landfill. Landfill tax is going up from 48 per tonne to 56 per tonne from April 2011. We want less food going into black sacks and more into food waste containers to increase recycling rates. If we don't decrease the amount of food going to landfill it will result in the need for either higher increases in Council Tax or cuts in other services because we will be paying higher charges. So by recycling our food waste we can greatly reduce how much waste we landfill and save money at the same time. Recycling your food waste is clean and simple and your efforts are just as important as everyone else. Ive heard that we should all try to throw less food waste away to start withIn the UK, we throw away about 1/3 of all the food we buy, much of which could have been eaten. It is important to try and reduce the amount of food we waste before we put it out for recycling. The food we throw away wastes the energy and resources used to grow,

process, package and transport it. If we all stopped wasting food, it would be the equivalent of taking 1 in 5 cars off the road. We can reduce the amount of food we waste by:

Sticking to portion sizes and avoiding cooking too much Storing food properly so that it lasts longer Planning our shopping so that we dont buy more than we need Using leftovers for future meals or freezing them for another time

Food waste in landfill sites creates damaging methane gas which contributes to climate change, and as the cost of sending waste to landfill is increasing each year, we need to recycle as much of our waste as we can. More than half of this comes from not using food in
time: often, it is thrown away untouched or unopened. Most of this ends up in landfill, where it rots, producing methane, the second most important greenhouse gas contributing to global warming. Doing away with food waste would have the same climate-change benefit as taking one in four cars off our roads. Food security is set to become a big issue at a time when the population is rising fast, oil and gas prices are volatile and climate change is having an increasing impact. It also raises huge environmental questions related to chemicals and energy use, the demand for land, and emissions of greenhouse gases.

Whether it's in a restaurant or a home kitchen, food waste is going to occur. The act of preparing food creates waste and diners will create even more when they don't eat everything that is cooked. Each foodstuff has a correct method of disposal. Not taking care of spoiled or wasted food correctly can create a large array of problems.

Clogged plumbing

Restaurant plumbing has grease traps to help eliminate clogs from grease being washed down the drain. Most home plumbing is not equipped with grease trap systems. If you pour grease down your drain it will go straight through to your pipes. Hot grease will solidify when cooled and will line pipe walls and eventually create a clog in your drain. Pour grease into a container and allow it to cool before disposing of it in a trash container.

Vermin

Vermin are attracted to any type of food that is available. Dispose of wasted food correctly to help prevent infestation. Seal solid trash in plastic bags by tying the bags closed. Keep lids on dumpsters and trash cans secure so that rodents cannot reach the bags. Sweep up small crumbs and pieces of food from floors to clear the area of waste that insects enjoy.

Smells

Rotting food creates a very unpleasant smell, but properly disposing of food can help prevent this from happening. Seal everything that is likely to rot into airtight bags or other containers. Keep large amounts of spoiled foods sealed in containers and stored in refrigeration if your waste disposal service is not due for a few days. Place the garbage outside the night before pick up.

Creating an Eyesore

Tie all bags tightly and place them in airtight containers or dumpsters with heavy lids. Close all dumpster lids. Break down cardboard boxes so that they will fit easier into containers and leave room for other waste. Do not leave bags beside a

dumpster or laying against a building, as rodents and other animals can tear open these bags and strew garbage over the landscape

There are many ways that this waste affects the environment. Firstly, production. Production of food is very costly to the environment in its own right. Vast areas of land needs to be cleared into order to plant a crop that will feed a nation. This land, once being a wealth of biodiversity is replaced with miles of monoculture. But the damage doesn't stop there. In order to maintain and protect a monoculture system, fertilizers and pesticides need to be used. Although their direct impact may not be initially realized, years of conventional approaches to farming, lead to long-term poisoning of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and depletion of the living entities of the soil. Secondly, waste in processing and consumption, which needs to be disposed of. Breaking down of food waste results in the production of methane gas, potentially contributing to global warming. I work with farmers that export vegetables to the UK and Europe. In order for a packet of beans to come out nice and straight and all the same length, we have to reject 20 - 30% of the produce that comes from the field (some of which is absorbed by the local markets), this is very wasteful before the product has even reached the shelves. If people buy loose fresh produce - typically the unblemished tomatoes are selected first. This leaves the slightly misshapen and scarred tomato to wait out its life on the display, as it is repeatedly pushed aside, whilst the consumer reaches for perfection. Its ultimate fate is the rubbish bin. Finally, going back to the article by Martin Hickman, we obviously buy more than we could ever consume: 4.4 million apples,1.6 million bananas and 5.1 million potatoes, just to quote a few. Living in a developing country, my obvious response would be the scream out "Stop wasting food! Why buy more than you need in the first place! And hey I bet the neglected tomato there is far more tastier!". However, the generation of waste is inevitable, so in reality our focus should not only look at reducing waste, but also to look at how to dispose of the waste so that is has a minimal impact on the environment. "Green" waste can easily be composted or returned back into the soil. Or, it can be turned into biofuel to limit the damaging effects of our energy thirsty society. An initiative that was taken up by InSource Energy Ltd, a joint venture between Scottish and Southern Energy in the UK. We need to reduce the amount of food waste that we produce, but also we need to optimize productivity of land already in production and develop a far more environmentally friendly approach to commercial agriculture. We shouldn't have to feed the world at the expense of the environment and we certainly shouldn't be wasting such a vital life sustaining commodity! ENDING FOOD WASTE - THE FIRST STEP IN SAVING THE PLANET The end of poverty, the end of homelessness, the end of cruelty and suffering, the end of rain forest destruction, the end of hunger and famish, the end of a corrupt society. Is it true that ending something as simple as wasting food products could have such a huge and positive effect on the environment? Yes, it is true, ending food waste is the easiest step to take to conservation and in turn, the easiest step to take in combating the immense force of global warming. Needless to say, ending food waste would have

nothing but positive effects on the environment in every aspect from conservation to ending human suffering. Conservation and protection of the environment is not a topic that should be so easily tossed aside. As human beings at this point in time, we are doing nothing to benefit the environment and pull ourselves into a greener' way of living despite it being our duty to set an example to the generations that come after us. Conservation is something that needs to be pulled and taught to new generations of people so they can help fight the battle that we can not fight forever. The environmental hazards of wasting food are plenty. You may not realise it at the time, but when you throw away food you are contributing to the serious case of landfill sites becoming too full. A landfill site is basically a huge hole built in the ground where all of our waste goes. Not only are they a hazard to our health, they are a danger to the environment in general contributing to such factors such as pollution. Aside from that, as land fill sites become full, more are having to be built, meaning trees and environmental safe havens for potentially endangered species of plants, animals and birds are having to be destroyed just to make space for our wasteful way of living. Who would have thought that throwing away food could have such potentially destructive results on the environment? You may be thinking that you yourself can not contribute to such disasters; but what if a million people are reading this right now, and a million people are throwing away a plate of food? That is a lot of food, enough to fill maybe 100,000 average size garden ponds or swimming pools, perhaps more. All of that food will be going into a landfill site and simply left, whereas there are plenty of ways you can make use of it and help contribute to the conservation of the environment at the same time. Recycle it - The majority of foods that are wasted in the household are things such as fruit, vegetables and bread. All of this food is actually biodegradable and when placed inside a compost bin will gradually rot down over time into fresh environment friendly compost which can then be used in your own garden, a family members garden or as many people do, sold for personal profit. Can you imagine those 100,000 swimming pools full of food being made into 100,000 swimming pools full of compost? You would be rich! Feed nature - As mentioned above, plenty of the food wasted includes fruit and bread. Fruit is actually a favourite for wild birds. At the back of my home is a tree, which bears crab apple fruits. When I wake up early in the morning, you can always hear the birds singing and when you look outside you can see them picking the crab apple fruits off the trees and enjoying their sweet contents. What if you could contribute to the health and fun of nature and enjoy a unique spectacle while saving the environment at the same time? Throw your unwanted fruit and bread outside late at night or early in the morning where the birds can get to it and you will be doing just that! Pets - Pets are not only just for enjoyment, they can also be lean, mean waste-proof machines! Many farmers will tell you that they rarely leave waste food, instead, they give it to their dogs, pigs or other animals kept as pets. Not only does it serve as a nice treat for the animal, but their droppings also serve as great fertiliser and contribute to

great compost the following year. As disgusting as that may sound to an ordinary person, this is actually a common practise. It is no different than using horse or sheep fertiliser' that is broken down the exact same way as regular compost. Why not do nature a favour and try this method out for size? As you can see, wasting food has much more effect on the environment than the average person would suspect. There are many aspects of the environment damaged by our wasteful modern-day society; why not do your part and set an example to someone else and start making use of your waste food for the sake of the future generations, and for the sake of the environment? There are serious environmental implications too. The amount of food we throw away is a waste of resources. Just think about all the energy, water and packaging used in food production, transportation and storage. This all goes to waste when we throw away perfectly good food. Cheese is a good example feeding and milking the cows, cooling and transporting the milk, processing it in to cheese, packing it, getting it to the shops, keeping it at the right temperature all the time. If it then gets thrown away it will most likely end up in a landfill site, where, rather than harmlessly decomposing as many people think, it rots and actually releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. If we stopped wasting food which could have been eaten, it would have the same impact on carbon emissions as taking 1 in 4 cars off UK roads. The rubbish we throw away, the homes we live in and the cars we drive all emit carbon dioxide emissions, the main green house gas to cause climate change. To find out further ways you can reduce your carbon footprint weve provided links to other useful sites. Recycle Now When we recycle, used materials are converted into new products, reducing the need to consume natural resources and using considerably less energy than producing new products from raw materials. Recycling also reduces the amount of rubbish sent to landfill sites, there are over 1,500 landfill sites in the UK, and in 2001, these sites produced a quarter of the UKs emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

Act on CO2 Ever wondered what your carbon footprint is? Now you can find out with the Act on C02 calculator, an easy to use tool which will calculate your carbon footprint and show you how you can tackle climate change When food is not wasted, but consumed it will cut down on the necessary production of food. When only a few do this, no good will come of it - except to those conserving of

their own resources - but when the whole word begins to respect and to conserve food on a global basis, the result will be overwhelming in favor of reducing the problems caused by gloval warming. It will take time but if everyone stops wasting food and every morsel that is edible is eaten, then over time the environment will regain its balance. How can this lowly means of eating left overs bring about such a dynamic change? When all food is eaten there is less that needs be bought; when less food is bought, there is less need to shop for more food; When less shopping is done; the car is driven less; when the car is driven less, there is less energy used; when less energy is used, there is less green house gas building up. This scenario is something like the boy chases the dog, the dog chases the cat, the cat chases the mouse, and the mouse, being thrifty hides his cheese well and eats every bite of it while protecting himself from hunger as well as keeping himself away from the claws of the cat. The idea is to humanely feed the world's hunger today in such a way that the earth will continue to sustain us as long as we respect its way of nurturing us. There must be a balance. We as humans need the oxygen that is released from the utilization of plants and trees to breath in fresh new air that is necessary for healthful maintenance of our bodily systems. When we have over consumed and are letting out into the atmosphere more carbon dioxide than the earth's vegetation can utilize, then we have created an unbalance. Therefore, an alarm is sounded that the earth is heating up faster than it should be heating up. Why we ask? We are consuming more than our share of the earth's resources than are being replenished. What can we do about it, we ask? We can consume less. Now we are back to the question of how eating all our food will contribute to the environment. It is elemental. Eating, or the act of eating that we must do several times every day is not the only way we consume; only babies put everything in their mouths if they are allowed to, but we are not babies. We are responsible people who must understand that every activity uses energy. When we purchase only those items that are necessary we are using less energy. Once, only those items that were demanded were supplied. There were no leftovers; there were no unbalances. Now it's more the opposite; the supply creates the demand. What to do with the excess of anything is always a problem. When people use more than their allotted use as dictated by the natural order of the universe, they are, in essence, barging into the allowances of others. Oh, I am sure that most never thinks of it in exact that way and would be horrified to know I am accusing them of that, but it is true, we do that when we overuse what nature freely gives. A balance was built in as a means of natural control by our Creator when He drew up the blueprints for our world, and we, as greedy people, have unbalanced it. What can we do, you ask? We eat all of our food. It is a known fact that food is biodegradable, so why is this an issue? Each bag of garbage that we throw out goes into landfills throughout the United States, which are slowly running out of room. More importantly, when food waste breaks down, it turns into methane gas. Methane gas traps up to 23 times as much heat in the atmosphere than

CO2, and landfills are the places where you find most of it, they account for about 34 percent methane gas emissions in the United States. This is just one way food waste effects the environment. Another way the environment is effected is from food production. Production of food is very costly to the environment, land needs to be cleared to plant crops, fertilizers and pesticides are often used which damage the earth after years of applying this to the crops. Saving only 5% of our left over's can feed 4 million people per day. Most food waste starts with the grower, supplier and distribution levels, due to imperfect foods do not meet the demand of the market. Reducing food waste can start at the individual level, and can help reduce waste by almost 25% and would help in saving money. Here are some tips in helping reduce waste at home, in the workplace and when eating out: Buy only what is going to be eaten. Buying in bulk often seems like a good idea, but more often than not, food that is no longer appetizing or becomes rotten gets thrown out, also wasting money. Keeping food storage organized will assist in reducing food waste. Keep left over's on one side of the fridge so it's easily visible. Freeze foods that will not be eaten right away, and do an inventory of the fridge several times a week to make sure things are not pushed to the back and forgotten about. Share your food with your friends, family and neighbors. It saves food, result s in building community and generosity is always appreciated. Do not throw out old fruits and veggies. Make a soup out of them! Then they can be frozen and consumed later. Excess food waste contributes to an excess consumption of fresh water and fossil fuels, and a higher level of methane and carbon dioxide emission into our atmosphere. Research has proved that since the early 1970's, food waste has increased 50% per capita, which breaks down on a caloric count of 1400 calories per person per day wasted. This suggests that the obesity increase in our nation may result in a push effect' of food availability, Americans are not able to match their food intake with the over availability of cheap food. This over supply of food energy can help curb the obesity factor and our food waste challenge. Food waste includes uneaten portions of food and food trimmings that are left over from kitchens, cafeterias and restaurants. Because of it low composting rate, it is the largest component of discarded waste by weight.

Aside from prepackaged foods making up a tenth of the waste from food, fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy and grains are also thrown away. As you can see, food waste has a major impact on our environment, landfills and health of our nation. Here are a few things you can do to help reduce waste: Write a list- preplan your shopping trips to help with the urge to overbuy groceries. Keep a healthy fridge- check the seals and temperature in the fridge for maximum food freshness and longevity. Don't throw it away- make softer fruits into smoothies or pies, wilting veggies into soup. Use up your leftovers- find creative ways to incorporate your leftovers into tomorrow's meal. Rotate food- when you go food shopping, put the newer food towards the back and the older food towards the front. Serve small amounts- most people won't clean their plates, encourage everyone to come back for seconds, and if there are leftovers you can use them on a different day. Freeze- freezing breads help lengthen its lifespan. Turn it into garden food- waste is inevitable, so why not compost as much as you can. Fruits, vegetables break down into rich nutrients for the soil. In a few months, you can sprinkle it on your garden or flowers. We are contributing to climate change When excess food is disposed of in a landfill, it decomposes and is a significant source of methane gas, which is 20 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Last year, food waste in the United States accounted for slightly more than 100 metric tons of methane originating from landfills.9 At the European level, the overall environmental impact is at least 170 metric tons of CO2 equivalent emitted per year (close to the total greenhouse gas emissions of Romania or of the Netherlands in 2008 and approximately 3 percent of total EU27 emissions in 2008). This calculation includes all steps of the life cycle of food waste (agricultural steps, food processing, transportation, storage, consumption, and end-of-use impacts).

We are wasting enengy Wasted food is wasted energy. The calories in wasted food are never consumed, and the energy that went into growing the food, processing it, packaging it, and transporting it to the consumer is also wasted. Each year, U.S. food waste represents the energy equivalent of 350 million barrels of oil,10 enough to power the whole country for a week.

We are needlessly exacerbating the global water crisis Wasted food is also wasted water. Water losses accumulate as food is wasted before and after it reaches the consumer. Calculations estimate that food waste accounts for more than a quarter of total freshwater consumption globally. To meet current food demand, more than 3,000 liters of water per person per day are used in crop production