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Basic Information about Food Scraps
Food Scraps
Food leftovers are the single-largest component of the waste stream by weight in the United States. Americans throw away more than 25 percent of the food we prepare, about 96 billion pounds of food waste each year. Food waste includes uneaten food and food preparation scraps from residences or households, commercial establishments like restaurants, institutional sources like school cafeterias, and industrial sources like factory lunchrooms. The nation spends about 1 billion dollars a year to dispose of food waste.
In 2007, almost 12.5 percent of the total municipal solid waste (MSW) generated in American households was food scraps and less than three percent was recovered. The rest was thrown away and disposed in landfills or combusted in incinerators.
The decomposition of food and other waste under anaerobic (without oxygen) conditions in landfills produces methane, a greenhouse gas (GHG) 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Landfills are the largest human-related source of methane in the United States, accounting for 34 percent of all methane emissions. Recover ((i.e. food donations) and recycling (i.e., composting) diverts organic materials from landfills and incinerators, thereby reducing GHG emissions from landfills and waste combustion.
Food waste recovery and recycling is already occurring across the country. State governments are encouraging businesses (e.g., supermarkets, restaurants, institutions) to separate excess, uneaten food for donations and to compost the remainder. Reusing and recycling excess food saves money by reducing disposal fees. By separating food waste, businesses can inventory the excess food they are creating and then implement source reduction practices to save money. Several local governments provide curbside collection of homeowner food waste for composting at municipal or commercial facilities. Many homeowners also are composting their kitchen waste in their own backyards and even in their kitchen using worm bins (known as "vermicomposting").
