General and Local Food Waste Taylor DeLisle, Allison Fetterman, Keri Klimko, Alexa Lopez

What is Food Waste? Food that is thrown away while it is still safe for consumption. Each day roughly 20 lbs. of food per person per day is thrown out. What does 20 pounds look like? Now multiply that by about 7.5 billion

But what do the Stats Look Like? In the U.S. Alone, 30-40% of all food is wasted. 97% of all food thrown away ends up in landfills each year That is equivalent to 33 million tons of food!!! In Berks County alone, there is over 430,000 tons of trash in our landfills. Recycling rates have decreased since 2008 by 56%! That sounds like a lot of food waste!? How big is Berks County exactly?’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR7MIuMgthE#t=48.645804

Berks County Berks County is 866 square miles in area. Has 5 Colleges 19 School Districts Population of 411,442

Let’s Break it Down. If Berks County has 411,442 people and each person creates roughly 20 pounds of trash a day...that's…..roughly 8,228,840 pounds of trash each day!! So if a ton is 2,000 pounds that means we create 4,114.42 tons of trash each day...so in a year Berks county adds 1,501,763 pounds of trash to our landfills. OH WAIT! Don't Forget 75% of that trash could have been composted!

So, What is Compost? Anything you consume can be compost! And some things you could consume but might not want to… Like unbleached paper products

Is Compost Not For You? Another way to reduce food waste is to understand what it is you’re buying at the grocery store… Plan your meals for the week. Go through your cabinets before going to the store. Only buy what you need. Buy prepackaged, single serve portions I.e. Purdue Single Portion Chicken Breasts

Know The Dates -Best if Used by dates USDA suggests consuming the product before this date for optimal quality -Expiration dates Still safe for consumption; dispose if product smells or looks out of ordinary Sell By Dates The date that the product must legally removed from shelves Use By Dates USDA recommends you follow this date *40% of the U.S. food supply is tossed–unused–every year because of food dating!!

Recycling Throughout Berks County recycling rates rose from 22% in 2005 to 59% in 2006. These rates then dropped 56% due to the declining population

What Can and Cannot Be Recycled? Yes ! Cardboard Newspaper Mixed Paper - books, junk mail, cards. Office Paper Shredded Paper Aluminum Cans Tin Cans Plastics Glass No! Incandescent Bulbs Plastic Bags Clothing Contaminated Pizza Boxes Lids Prescription Bottles Flower pots Styrofoam Milk, Juice or soup Cartons Aluminum foil or foil containers. These items accepted at household chemical collections. Fluorescent Bulbs Batteries Motor and Oil Gasoline Household Cleaners AntiFreeze Pesticides Household Cleaners.

Going Of The Grid- Produce No Waste- Laura Singer and Lauren Ling https://vimeo.com/126821211 Going off the Grid is a new series that highlights people who have decided to disconnect from the everyday world. A Young New York woman was in the series about living life without trash. Lauren Singer a graduate student at New York University, studying environmental studies. she explains her lifestyle, as for how she has alternative methods for everything. 2 years of Trash That She Produced.

Our Service Project We made birdhouses for the Glenside Elementary School. We made a total of 14 bird houses all out of recycled materials. We made them out of 2 liter soda bottles, plastic mason jars, and popsicle sticks. Here are the birdhouse hanging in the Glenside Garden.

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Bye From Green To Extreme