WE NEED TO NOT THROW AWAY FOOD

Want a simple way to start sorting your food waste?

Every day, a precious resource is thrown away by all of us with devastating impact: food.

In the United States alone, 30 percent to 40 percent of all food produced is thrown away. Not only does this waste all the resources that went into producing that food — from the minerals and nutrients that are extracted from the soil to the water used — it also creates a critical environmental danger.

What makes it so dangerous? You might think, as we used to, “This is wasteful, of course, but at least the food will break down in the landfill.” And it does — to our detriment. Because when organic material breaks down in the landfill, it creates methane, a greenhouse gas 80 times more damaging than carbon dioxide.

This makes the food we throw away a significant contributor to climate change.

This is what the new California law, Senate Bill 1383, seeks to address. The bill mandates that Californians treat food waste the way we treat recyclables by separating it from our landfill-bound trash in order to significantly cut the state’s methane production — a key element in fighting the climate crisis.

At Solana Center for Environmental Innovation, we have been working with local cities to offer solutions for residents and businesses to address Senate Bill 1383, and we know there are a lot of questions. But while changing habits can be tricky and the idea of food waste can be unappetizing, it truly is easy to implement with some small changes.

For individuals and families, it’s simple: Just as with recycling, you’ll separate your food waste from your trash. That means scraps from meal preparation, plate scrapings, food-soiled paper, and spoiled inedible food will, in most cities, be put in your curbside or residential bin with yard waste. Look for instructions from your waste hauler for specific details based on your location.

Want a simple way to start sorting your food waste? We recommend using a kitchen caddy to collect your scraps, and, once it’s full, emptying it directly into your curbside bin. About the size of a large cookie jar, kitchen caddies can be washed easily and hold a surprising amount despite their limited footprint, making them a great tool for home kitchens of all sizes.

For businesses, the process is similar, but there’s an added element that requires edible foods be separated out for donation. This is a wonderful feature of California’s mandate. Much of the food that ends up in the landfill is perfectly good. Meanwhile, as many as 1 in 3 San Diegans are food insecure. The new law requires jurisdictions to establish food donation programs, requiring food businesses to partner with food banks and pantries.

From Solana Center’s years of consulting with businesses on food waste and our recent Senate Bill 1383 work, we understand the concerns that odors, staff training and space constraints raise for local businesses. While these seem daunting, they are surmountable, and there are successful examples to prove it, from large grocery stores like Jimbo’s to small businesses like GOODONYA Organic Eatery. It may take a while to get new processes in place, but they’ll soon be routine.

So why didn’t we do something about food waste sooner? Currently we generate more than we can process. As of 2020, the San Diego region produced 1.6 million metric tons of food waste and only one-third of the necessary capacity to process that waste. While Solana Center has been working for decades to bring awareness and solutions to the issue of organic waste, it was not until the new legislation that processing capacity began to be addressed as a region. The state mandate was the needed impetus.

The benefits of the new law are simple but incredibly impactful. California will feed more people, waste fewer resources and significantly reduce methane. Not only that, the separated organic waste will also be used to create renewable natural gas, mulch or nutrient-rich compost that can help return resources to our soil. Use of this compost by our communities can be widespread in parks, medians, landscaping and farms.

There is significant environmental cost to the status quo, so we have to find a way to make these changes. It is a matter of priorities. Government regulations and market forces can be levers we use to help us change, but it will also take all of us learning simple new habits. Soon enough, sorting out organic material, like recycling a soda can, will be second nature in San Diego.

All it takes is not throwing our food in the trash.