Food Waste: Challenges and Opportunities Susan Mooney Materials Management Branch U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 November 4, 2016
Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Influx of New Material/ Resources “One half to three quarters of annual resource inputs to industrial economies is returned to the environment as wastes within just one year.” Weight of Nations: Material Outflows from Industrial Economies, WRI Design and Manufacturing Distribution Retail Use and Maintenance End-of-Life Management Processing Lifecycle of materials Disposal
SMM Offers New Perspectives on Addressing Climate Change SMM offers new opportunities to address climate change: Materials Management is represented by the Provision of Goods and Provision of Food, which accounts for 42% of U.S. GHG emissions.
SMM Strategic Plan for FY2017-2022: Three Strategic Priority Areas The Built Environment (buildings, roads, bridges, infrastructure) Sustainable Management of Food Sustainable Packaging Additional Emphasis Areas: Sustainable Electronics Management; Lifecycle Assessment; Measurement; and International Efforts
Sustainable Management of Food: U.S. Wasted Food Profile Source: Advancing Materials Management Facts and Figures 2013, EPA (June 2015)
The Cost of Wasted Food
Baseline: 218.9 pounds per person Goal: 109.4 pounds per person Reaching the 2030 Goal Baseline: 218.9 pounds per person Goal: 109.4 pounds per person
Sustainable Management of Food Food Recovery Challenge
Domestic Equivalency Savings 33,518
Sustainable Management of Food
How are communities currently tackling food waste? Food: Too Good To Waste – Macalester-Groveland Community in Minnesota http://www.macgrove.org/foodwaste Illinois Food Scrap Coalition – Composting Challenges & Solutions Report http://illinoiscomposts.org/ Food Recovery Challenge – You can’t manage what you don’t measure! https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/food-recovery-challenge-frc
A Call to Action
A Call to Action Seek Prevention Strategies Increase Public Awareness KEY Activities Identified: Seek Prevention Strategies Increase Public Awareness Improve the Data Forge New Partnerships and Expand the Existing Ones Clarify Date Labels and Food Safety Build Food Loss and Waste Infrastructures
How are the manufacturing, retail, and restaurant sectors currently tackling food waste? Source: Food Waste Reduction Alliance’s Best Practices & Emerging Solutions Guide (Fall 2015)
Upcoming Products Guide to Conducting Student School Waste Audits: A Resource for Schools Wasted Food & Other Organics Disposed (FOOD) National Mapping Tool National Virtual Resource Center
Additional EPA Tools & Programs Local Foods, Local Places Managing and Transforming Waste Streams Tool Pollution Prevention Grants
Please visit our website: Thank you! Please visit our website: http://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food Follow us @EPAland using #nowastedfood Susan Mooney mooney.susan@epa.gov 312-886-3585
Food Waste: Challenges and Opportunities Susan Mooney Materials Management Branch U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 November 4, 2016
Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Influx of New Material/ Resources “One half to three quarters of annual resource inputs to industrial economies is returned to the environment as wastes within just one year.” Weight of Nations: Material Outflows from Industrial Economies, WRI Design and Manufacturing Distribution Retail Use and Maintenance End-of-Life Management Processing Lifecycle of materials Disposal
SMM Offers New Perspectives on Addressing Climate Change SMM offers new opportunities to address climate change: Materials Management is represented by the Provision of Goods and Provision of Food, which accounts for 42% of U.S. GHG emissions.
SMM Strategic Plan for FY2017-2022: Three Strategic Priority Areas The Built Environment (buildings, roads, bridges, infrastructure) Sustainable Management of Food Sustainable Packaging Additional Emphasis Areas: Sustainable Electronics Management; Lifecycle Assessment; Measurement; and International Efforts
Sustainable Management of Food: U.S. Wasted Food Profile Source: Advancing Materials Management Facts and Figures 2013, EPA (June 2015)
The Cost of Wasted Food
Baseline: 218.9 pounds per person Goal: 109.4 pounds per person Reaching the 2030 Goal Baseline: 218.9 pounds per person Goal: 109.4 pounds per person
Sustainable Management of Food Food Recovery Challenge
Domestic Equivalency Savings 33,518
Sustainable Management of Food
How are communities currently tackling food waste? Food: Too Good To Waste – Macalester-Groveland Community in Minnesota http://www.macgrove.org/foodwaste Illinois Food Scrap Coalition – Composting Challenges & Solutions Report http://illinoiscomposts.org/ Food Recovery Challenge – You can’t manage what you don’t measure! https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/food-recovery-challenge-frc
A Call to Action
A Call to Action Seek Prevention Strategies Increase Public Awareness KEY Activities Identified: Seek Prevention Strategies Increase Public Awareness Improve the Data Forge New Partnerships and Expand the Existing Ones Clarify Date Labels and Food Safety Build Food Loss and Waste Infrastructures
How are the manufacturing, retail, and restaurant sectors currently tackling food waste? Source: Food Waste Reduction Alliance’s Best Practices & Emerging Solutions Guide (Fall 2015)
Upcoming Products Guide to Conducting Student School Waste Audits: A Resource for Schools Wasted Food & Other Organics Disposed (FOOD) National Mapping Tool National Virtual Resource Center
Additional EPA Tools & Programs Local Foods, Local Places Managing and Transforming Waste Streams Tool Pollution Prevention Grants
Please visit our website: Thank you! Please visit our website: http://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food Follow us @EPAland using #nowastedfood Susan Mooney mooney.susan@epa.gov 312-886-3585