food waste

Curbing Food Waste Helps Our Planet

Dan Environment, This Land of Ours

food wasteCathy Isom has a few great tips about how to help out the planet by curbing a global problem. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.

Food waste is second largest component of our waste stream, just behind paper. It encompasses about 18 percent of the material handled by our waste management system every year.

The average American citizen throws out roughly 20 pounds of food per month. What happens after that? Food waste decays in landfills, and methane gas is released in the process.

Curbing food waste should be a priority for our planet and there are many proactive measures we can take that are pretty simple. For example:

  • When fruits start to soften after its ripened, consider storing it in the freezer for later use in smoothies or juicing.
  • Make lists for meals so you only buy exactly what you need.
  • Compost leftovers in your garden rather than trashing them.
  • And, if you have leftovers that will probably go untouched, consider sharing them with a friend or neighbor.

I’m Cathy Isom…