The Scope of the Problem

Food represents the single largest component, by weight, of municipal solid waste reaching landfills and incinerators in the United States. The foodservice industry generates an estimated 25% of it.

CHAPTER 1

The Scope of the Problem

AMERICA DOESN’T EAT 40% OF ITS FOOD

The National Resources Defense Council puts it this way: “If the United States went grocery shopping, we would leave the store with five bags and leave two in the parking lot.” All told, America throws out more than 1,250 calories per day per person, or more than 400 pounds of food per person annually.¹

The foodservice industry must bear part of the responsibility. According to ReFED, U.S. restaurants (including full-service and quick-service) are estimated to generate 22 billion to 33 billion pounds of food waste each year. Institutions—including universities, schools, hotels, healthcare facilities, and other locations with cafeterias or catering—generate an additional 7 billion to 11 billion pounds per year. Together, these outlets generate approximately two to four times the waste of grocery stores, retail supercenters, and wholesale distributors combined.² One industry survey found that only 2% of the food discarded by responding national restaurant chains was donated.³

The staggering environmental, societal, and economic impact of that is gaining attention across the food chain and around the country.

For instance, in 2018 the city of Austin, TX, passed an ordinance that food enterprises (including restaurants, markets, and shops that serve made-to-order food, as well as businesses that prepare and process food) can no longer send organic materials to landfills. This includes food, food scraps; paper towels and napkins; dirty paper, cardboard, and wax boards (such as food containers); spent flowers; and landscape trimmings.

Food represents the single largest component, by weight, of municipal solid waste reaching landfills and incinerators in the United States, at an estimated annual cost of $1.3 billion in transport and fees.⁴

These organizations are required to inform the city of their organics plans, as well as educate their employees about the processes, such as donating usable food to food banks, shelters, and soup kitchens; selling scraps to local farms and ranches for composting or animal feeding; or composting on their own or through a service.

A growing number of states and localities have their own versions of such ordinances. The time is now for foodservice operators to formulate their own programs.

^{_{Sources: [1] Natural Resources Defense Council, “Wasted: How America is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food From Farm to Fork to Landfill” (2017). [2] ReFED, “A Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste by 20 Percent” (2016). [3] Food Waste Reduction Alliance, Analysis of U.S. Food Waste Among Food Manufacturers, Retailers, and Restaurants (2016). [4] Environmental Protection Agency (2016).}}