Jump to main content.

Generators of Food Waste

Food Waste

Food waste is generated from many sources: food manufacturing and processing facilities; supermarkets; institutions such as schools, prisons, and hospitals; restaurants and food courts; and households. Food waste is categorized as either pre-consumer (i.e., food prep waste) or post-consumer waste (e.g., leftover food or plate scrapings).

Large-Scale Generators

Photo of a man throwing away lettuce

Food service providers (e.g., supermarkets, institutions, restaurants) produce a significant amount of food waste each day. EPA is encouraging these large-scale food waste generators to manage their surplus food and to implement a food waste diversion program. Putting Surplus Food to Good Use: A How-To Guide for Food Service Providers (PDF) (2 pp, 1.1MB, about PDF) uses the food waste recovery hierarchy to help these businesses find productive ways to use their surplus food. Separating and managing food scraps can result in both economic and environmental benefits.

Top of page

Small-Scale Generators and Homeowners

Individuals, households, and other small scale generators of food waste often don't realize just how much food they throw away every day—from uneaten leftovers to spoiled produce. According to Food Loss and the American Household Exit EPA, a 2006 study, American households throw away 14 percent of the food they purchase, an average of 470 pounds of food into the trash annually. This costs a family of four nearly $600/ year - money that could be spent on other consumer goods.

By paying attention and taking some simple steps, individuals and households can significantly reduce the amount of food and money wasted every year. Visit the household food waste page to find ways you can make the most of the food you buy - greening your wallet and your corner of the planet.

Top of page

What You Can Do

Follow the Food Waste Recovery Hierarchy

In Waste Not, Want Not: Feeding the Hungry and Reducing Solid Waste Through Food Recovery (PDF) (59 pp, 1.5MB, about PDF) both EPA and USDA recommend following the "food waste recovery hierarchy" below as the preferred options to make the most of excess food. The food waste recovery hierarchy comprises the following activities, with disposal as the last, and least preferred, option:

Food Hierarchy
food hierarchy represented by inverted triangle with source reduction at the top, followed by feed people, feed animals, industrial uses, composting, and last landfill/inceration
Think of it as the "3 R's" for food - reduce, reuse, and recycle. The good news is that food waste reduction, recovery and recycling is already occurring across the country. State governments are encouraging businesses (e.g., supermarkets, restaurants, institutions) to separate excess, uneaten food for donations and to compost the remainder. Reducing, reusing and recycling excess food can have a major impact on "greening" both your bottom-line and the environment.

Top of page

Local Navigation

Jump to main content.