by Melisa Hargrove, KFB Board Member
As the spring flowers start to bloom, Keep Florence Beautiful wants to encourage you to start a journey to reduce your kitchen waste. Spring is the time of year for planting and growing, which will eventually result in harvest and food. Unfortunately, food waste is a serious problem. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that more food reaches landfills than any other single material in our everyday trash, constituting 24% of municipal solid waste. According to the Food and Drug Administration, in 2018 alone, over 63 million tons of food waste were generated in the commercial, institutional, and residential sectors. That food waste is estimated at between 30-40% of the food supply, which in 2010 corresponded to approximately 133 billion pounds and $161 billion worth of food. That is a lot of food waste and money!
So what can we (you and I) do to help? There are too many ways to name them all, but here are a few. First, don’t buy it if we aren’t going to eat it. Ouch, that hit home because I am terrible at buying too many bananas. In fact, I have been given the nickname of “banana killer.” So next time I am in the grocery sore, I need to seriously evaluate if I will eat the food before it goes bad.
Next, if your produce looks like it’s going south, freeze it before it goes bad. Most vegetables can be frozen. Having some diced onions ready to go in the freezer saves me time and reduces food waste (same with my bananas that I use for cake and dog treats). As an aside, recycling has become very difficult for many people. One small way that I reduce kitchen waste is to donate my aluminum cans to local fire department and they donate the proceeds to the burn center.
Finally, the focus of many people on reducing food waste is composting. The same FDA website referenced above states that of the 63 million tons of food waste, only 4% is managed via composting. You may think, so what if food goes into the landfill, it will biodegrade eventually. Unfortunately, there is more to it.
Based on what I have learned, the food decomposing in landfills release methane (yuck) and is mixed with the rest of the trash. While food that is composted, decomposes using oxygen and microbes, which leave you with a nutrient rich soil that can be used in gardens. Compost prevents harmful insects, reduces erosion, and reduces the need for chemical fertilizers. Composting is not for everyone, but there are so many new ways to compost and I am currently on my own composting journey. If you would like to learn more about composting, come visit the KFB booth at the City Center Farmers Market on Saturday, March 23rd for additional information, micro-composters, and a mini worm farm.
Regardless if you do any of the above, try to be thoughtful regarding food and food waste. I am confident that if you think about it, you will find ways that work for you.