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WHO GENERATES FOOD WASTE?
Commercial/Institutional Generators
Universities and Colleges
Grocery Stores
Malls
Event Centers
Restaurants
K-12 Schools
Nursing Homes
Hospitals
Hotels & Motels
Residences
QUICK LINKS
Workshop presentation and recording links (to be added)
Contact Us: Arrange for survey interview or food waste audit
How-to guidelines:
Best practices - Food Donation
Laws and Regulations:
ROLE OF GENERATORS IN FW MANAGEMENT
According to a Wasted Food Report by the EPA in 2018, 47% of the food waste produced in the US ( 30 million tons) was produced by food wholesale, supermarkets and supercenters, and restaurants and other food services.
Out of all the sectors of generators (excluding the industrial sector) 56% of food wasted ended up in a landfill.
DRIVERS FOR CHANGE
Social/ Equality
In the US, 1 in 7 people are food insecure
If 15% less food was wasted, it could feed 25 million people
Economic
Each year in the US approximately 218 billion dollars worth of food is wasted
Environmental
Wasted food= wasted resources
If food waste was its own country, it would be the 3rd largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions globally
Regulatory
In 2022, the NYS Food Donation and Food Scraps Recycling law goes into effective which requires businesses that generate 2 tons or more of food waste to donate excess food that is edible and recycle food scraps if within 25 miles of an organics recycler
Your Savings!
Reduced tipping fees for garbage removal services
If you donate edible food to nonprofit organizations, you are eligible for tax deductions
NYSDEC PROPOSED PART 350 REGULATIONS
The NYSDEC proposed regulations (6 NYCRR part 350) define how the state will implement the requirements in the 2019 Food Donation and Food Scraps Recycling Law , which will go into effect in January, 2022.
Key issues:
Large-quantity generators (>2000 lb/wk) will no longer be allowed to send food waste to a landfill (or incinerator, waste water treatment, etc.) (with some exceptions)
Generally Includes: Large grocery stores, Residential academic institutions, Event centers, etc.
Excludes: K-12 schools, hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities
Large-quantity generators will be notified in June 2021
Regulations included that apply to generators, transporters and organic recyclers
ADOPTING NEW FW MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
The EPA Food Recovery Hierarchy prioritizes food waste management strategies starting with source reductions as highest priority and landfilling the least.
REDUCING FOOD WASTE GENERATED
How can you do this?
Food Purchasing Techniques to control inventory
Storage Techniques to ensure food quality is maintained
Food Reusing or Repurposing - for example making soups or smoothies from bruised fruits and vegetables; old bread can become bread crumbs
Training Staff to cut vegetables and meats with minimal loss
Plating Techniques to reduce items or amounts that are uneaten
To learn more visit Reducing Wasted Food and Packaging: A Guide for Food Services and Restaurants
DONATING EDIBLE FOOD TO PEOPLE
To learn more on about donating edible food to people, visit our separate page here
DONATING FOOD SCRAPS TO ANIMALS
Feeding food scraps to animals is a great way to recycle food waste and prevent it from ending up in landfills. However, before donating food scraps to farmers or other people who own livestock there are a few important laws.
Federal Laws
Food waste that contains meat or animal by-products are required to be heat treated before being fed to swine. Other food waste doesn't need to be heat-treated (SHPA)
Bans are placed on feeding any mammalian-based proteins to ruminants (TSE)
Laws on general best practices such as rules for best practices and rules on safety and sanitation ( FSMA and FDCA)
Donating food to animals is not covered under the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act
NYS Laws
Food scraps that are derived from animals must be heat treated by a rendering plant if they are to be fed to cattle, swine or poultry
To learn more about the federal and state laws that pertain to donating food scraps to animals, please visit this website
FOOD WASTE RECYCLING
Anaerobic digestion and composting are two ways in which food waste can be recycled. With both of these methods, some of the value from the food waste can be recovered and reused, which is why they recycle food waste.
Anaerobic Digesters in Potsdam and the North Country region:
Clarkson University
Composting facilities in the North Country Region
One of the goals of the Potsdam Community Food Waste: Education, Engagement, and Planning project is to work with local businesses and local farmers to try and establish a community-scale food waste management program in Potsdam that incorporates food recovery and recycling. If you would be interested in getting involved as a food waste generator, please reach out to someone on our Contact page to see how you can help!
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