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Food Waste
Food Waste
Food waste is any food substance, raw or cooked, which is discarded, or intended or required to be discarded. Food wastes are the organic residues generated by the handling, storage, sale, preparation, cooking, and serving of foods.
This section of the Organic Materials Web site provides information about economically, socially and environmentally beneficial food waste management. Topics include:
- Basic Information - Learn why food waste disposal is a problem and what's currently being done about it.
- Generators - Learn about food waste management options for large-scale generators and for households.
- Food Waste
Recovery Hierarchy - Review EPA's food waste
diversion hierarchy and learn how to recover and
reduce surplus food and food waste.
- Source Reduction - Reduce the amount of food waste being generated;
- Feed People - Donate excess food to food banks, soup kitchens and shelters;
- Feed Animals - Provide food scraps to farmers;
- Industrial Uses - Provide fats for rendering or fuel and food discards for animal feed production;
- Composting - Recycle food scraps into a nutrient rich soil amendment
- Tools and Resources - View publications and links to EPA-sponsored Web sites and other federal and nongovernmental organization Web sites that provide information on food scraps management issues.
- Success Stories - Learn how some organizations are recovering food scraps and submit your own project to EPA.
- Where You Live - Learn about EPA regional and state food waste programs
- Frequent Questions - Find answers to frequently asked questions about food scraps.
