IS ALL OUR TRASH REALLY WASTE? A LOOK INTO HOW DUMPSTER DIVING CAN TEACH US A LOT ABOUT OUR NATION’S WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. Ali Monroe

Waste in America  According to the Environmental Protection Agency, food leftovers are the single-largest component of the waste stream by weight in the United States (Brown, 2).  Over 12 percent of the total municipal solid waste generated in American households was food scraps and less than three percent was recovered (Klimas, 2).

Dumpster Diving  When most people think of dumpster diving they think of poor people looking for scraps of food in the dumpster.  Dumpster diving can produce fresh fruit, healthy meals, and good food for families; most dumpster divers have a diet that is eighty or more percent off of food found in dumpsters around the nation (Klimas, 2).

Is our trash all waste?  American citizens and the American government have to start considering: is what we throw away really trash or are we just being wasteful?

Food Perfection Culture  Culturally, we are raised to understand what is and is not trash but this cannot all be wasted.  Although we are raised in a society that encourages us to be snobs about the food we eat, we need to reevaluate the food we simply throw away.  “Because of federal and state regulations for restaurants and grocery stores expiration dates often come before the food actually spoils. Most of the food we throw away is not actually waste, but just food we do not want or think we will not eat (Brown, 1).”

Expiration Dates “Because of federal and state regulations for restaurants and grocery stores expiration dates often come before the food actually spoils. Most of the food we throw away is not actually waste, but just food we do not want or think we will not eat (Brown, 1).”

Changing Expiration Dates  A specific reason that so much food is thrown away is because the government and corporations decide what is deemed to be trash and what is deemed to be eatable, through expiration dates, sell by dates, and other rules.  This growing waste problem could be changed by simple revisions with the help of communities and waste management to help prevent so much waste in restaurants and grocery stores.

The government should take dumpster divers as an reason to revise the way restaurants and grocery stores view what is good or bad food, to lessen the amount of waste in America. Expiration Dates: A good change!

Waste Management: The Solution  Waste management partners with customers and communities to provide waste disposal and recycling solutions that create clean, renewable energy. Waste management can provide good advise on important issues we are facing with our growing waste problems.  The government and waste management need to team to change the way we view waste, through such things as expiration dates, sell by dates, and so on. The government and waste management need to team to change the way we view waste, through such things as expiration dates, sell by dates, and so on.

Lessening Waste  The government and waste management need to team to change the way we view waste, through such things as expiration dates, sell by dates, and so on. Through discussing these points, I hope to show that the amount of food we waste is horrifying and needs to be changed, and that this change is possible; our culture can change.