Introduction
Some explanation here about the context about food waste, and parts involved…
Probably combine it with the next section.
Municipal Solid Waste
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) —more commonly known as trash or garbage— “consists of everyday items we use and then throw away, such as product packaging, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, bottles, food scraps, newspapers, appliances, paint, and batteries. This comes from our homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses.” (Source: EPA)
Every year, the US produces a total of 292.4 million tons of Municipal Solid Waste, 732,614 tons of which are produced in Delaware alone.
This equates to 10,442,857 heavy tonnage trucks per year in the case of the US, and to 26,165 for Delaware.
Break
Food waste in MSW
In both cases, food waste accounts for a 21% of the total of MSW. While most of wasted food comes from commercial or industrial uses, residential food waste is significant.
This means that there is much that can be done at individual level.
The cost of food waste
The cost of surplus food is estimated at $398 billion per year, with 70% of that cost paying for waste management.
If we exclude the surplus food generated on the farm and during manufacturing, the total surplus food produced by consumers, foodservice, and retail sectors is 53 million tons per year, or 324.6 pounds per person, and costing $350 billion. The U.S. EPA set a goal of reducing food waste disposed by 50% by 2030. Using a 2010 baseline estimate of 219 pounds per person (post-processing), that means a goal of disposing 109 pounds per person. The U.S. is far from reaching its 2030 food waste goal.
Individual contribution (average)
Surplus food is “All food that goes unsold or unused by a business or that goes uneaten at home – including food and inedible parts (e.g., peels, pits, bones) that are donated, fed to animals, repurposed to produce other products, composted, anaerobically digested, or wasted.” (ReFED, Insights Engine Glossary, p.1).
Surplus food
Surplus food is “All food that goes unsold or unused by a business or that goes uneaten at home – including food and inedible parts (e.g., peels, pits, bones) that are donated, fed to animals, repurposed to produce other products, composted, anaerobically digested, or wasted.” (ReFED, Insights Engine Glossary, p.1).
On the consumer level, individuals in the U.S. throw out nearly 25% of the food they bring into their homes. This amounts to a whopping 20 pounds of edible food wasted every single month
Food waste equivalences
While at first sight, this might seem neglibile at an individual level, figures per household and nationwide tell us otherwise: The costs of food waste are very high in terms of money and weight