This article from NPR’s “The Salt” details the rise of programs designed to rescue fruits and vegetables with visual imperfections from being wasted or thrown in the trash. Surveys in Minnesota and California suggest that anywhere from 5 to 30 percent of a farmer’s harvest is thrown out as a result of cosmetic imperfections. To combat…
This press release from Bentley University highlights food waste diversion that is taking place at the university. Sodexo staff in all of Bentley’s campus kitchens separate pre-consumer food waste. Additionally, in Seasons, the campus’ main dining hall, back-of-house staff separate and divert all food waste that is left on plates. Since Fall 2014, Bentley’s dining program has been…
This blog post from Spoiler Alert, a company based in Cambridge (MA) that has an “app” for connecting generators of surplus food to food recovery organizations, provides a visualization of food waste generation throughout the state and within the Boston metropolitan region. Staff at Spoiler Alert utilized publicly available food waste generation data from the state of…
This press release from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) highlights thirteen New England organizations that have backed the Food Recovery Challenge, an initiative that encourages businesses, organizations and institutions to prevent food waste by donating or recycling food. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) is among the organizations who have become “endorsers” of…
One-third of all food produced in the world ends up as waste. In this new report, the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) estimates the value of global consumer food waste at more than US$400 billion per year, and as the global middle class expands, that number could rise to US$600 billion in the next…
Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, began a food waste diversion program at the Higgins Cafeteria in 2007, and has since expanded the program to include multiple residence halls and most recently, the Academic Commons at Goddard Library. This article provides an overview of how food waste diversion to composting has spread across Clark’s campus, helping…
This radio story from WCAI, Cape and Islands NPR Station, and accompanying blog post highlight Falmouth (MA) resident Mary Ryther and her business “Compost With Me”, a small-scale residential and commercial food waste collection and composting service in Cape Cod. Ryther charges a nominal fee for food waste collection, and returns finished compost back to…
This article from Gazettenet.com describes the effort of a Deerfield farmer to install an anaerobic digester at his dairy facility. He’s working with commercial bans as well as USDA Rural Development. The article notes that the three other digesters in place around the state have simplified the permit process for anaerobic digestion. For more information on anaerobic…
This article from Cape News provides an excellent overview of a proposed anaerobic digestion facility at the Bourne landfill. The town sent an exploratory team to visit another facility operated by the same company, Harvest Power, and found that the operation produced little no no odor or noise that could be a problem for the town.
This article from LeanPath examines four food waste trends, highlighting Massachusetts as an early adopter of food waste ban legislation. Read the article to learn more about the innovations and economic environment surrounding the food waste ban. For information on the food waste ban, visit our Food Waste page for guidance from RecyclingWorks Massachusetts on the specifics of the…
