The Urgency of Reducing Food Waste: A Bear Necessity for Our Environment

Food waste is a pressing issue that affects our environment on multiple levels. As the global population continues to grow, so does the demand for food, making it crucial for us to address the problem of food waste. Not only does it squander valuable resources and contribute to hunger, but food waste also has significant environmental implications.

The Environmental Toll of Food Waste

Food waste is a staggering problem worldwide, with roughly one-third of all food produced for human consumption being wasted each year. When food is discarded in the trash, it decomposes in landfills, releasing large amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. In fact, food waste accounts for about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions exacerbate global warming, leading to unpredictable weather patterns, rising sea levels, and biodiversity loss.

Based on a 2022 waste sort conducted at the Pitkin County Solid Waste Center, it was estimated that approximately 5,500 tons of food waste was buried in the landfill, which accounts for 22% of all waste, by weight, buried with the trash.  Why is this so alarming?  Pitkin has the second-largest compost facility in Colorado, composting 15,000 tons of organic waste in 2022.  All of that trashed food waste could have easily been made into a valuable soil amendment to be returned to gardens and lawns throughout the Roaring Fork Valley, instead of a dreary, unusable burial with the rest of the garbage.

“Food waste accounts for about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.”