Food waste prevention, rescue, and recovery

Wasted food is a social issue:

• In 2017, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) estimated that 16 percent of Washington’s population struggled to put food on the table.
• One in six Washingtonians (1.15 million people) receive food from emergency food providers, according to the WSDA

Wasted food is an environmental issue:

• Food is a valuable resource. Wasting edible and inedible food also wastes the water, energy, labor, pesticides, fertilizers, and land used to make the food.
• When food goes to the landfill, nutrients in the food do not return to the soil. The wasted food rots and produces methane gas. Methane (CH₄) is one of the three main greenhouse gases, along with carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrous oxide (N₂O). Methane is pound for pound 28 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide.

Wasted food is an economic issue:

• The US EPA estimates $218 billion dollars are spent to grow food that is not eaten in the United States.
• It is estimated that at the retail and consumer levels, food loss and waste total to $161 billion dollars nationally.
• According to the Natural Resource Defense Council, American families throw out approximately 25 percent of the food and beverages they buy. It is estimated this cost can equal $1,365 to $2,275 annually.

How much food waste is there in Washington?

Food waste is the largest component of the state and country's municipal solid waste. State data from 2015-16 shows that:

• Food makes up 16 percent of overall garbage (779,555 tons), which includes residential, commercial, and self-hauled garbage.

• Edible food is being discarded. Edible food makes up 8 percent of overall garbage (374,490 tons).

Here are a few resources on food waste prevention, recovery, and donation: