How Much Food Are You Wasting?

[caption id="attachment_2772" align="alignleft" width="281"] Clear That Plate![/caption]

Remember that saying 'Clear your plate' or "No dessert until that plate is empty'? Do you finish all the food on your plate? Ever take into consideration how much food we waste on a daily basis? The Cleveland Plain Dealer explores this issue, and discusses companies in Cleveland that are trying to recycle foods, and use this so-called waste, and turn it into something more.

You may not think twice about throwing away your half-eaten sandwich or hot dog, but this little bit of wasted food adds up. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, industrialized countries waste 222 million tons of food annually. In the United States alone, 34 million tons of food goes to waste each year. According to Jonathan Bloom, author of "American Wasteland," each day Americans throw away enough food to fill the 90,000-seat Rose Bowl. That's more food waste than can fit in the entire Cleveland Browns Stadium -- each day!

Every day we throw away food that is perfectly edible. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, food waste represents the single largest component of municipal solid waste going into landfills and incinerators. When food waste rots away in landfills, it turns into methane, a potent greenhouse gas with more than 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. Fortunately, local initiatives are helping Cleveland reduce the amount of food waste landing in landfills.

In November 2009, for example, the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District and Entrepreneurs for Sustainability launched a three-week composting pilot program. The program involved eight downtown Cleveland businesses, such as The Q, Tower City and Great Lakes Brewing Co. Over the three-week period, 9 tons of food waste were collected and delivered to composting facilities.

One local composting facility is Rosby Resource Recycling. Located in Brooklyn Heights, the company focuses on the recycling of organic materials into soil, mulch, compost and leaf humus. According to Rosby Resource Recycling, "we reclaim tons of material from the waste stream each day that otherwise would have been buried in the earth, and we find ways to reintroduce valuable resources back into local markets."

Read more at The Cleveland Plain Dealer