Prevent Wasted Food

Before considering how to manage organics at the end of their useful life, food waste should be prevented. The National Resource Defense Council's Report: "Wasted: How America is Losing Up to 40% of its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill", details the loss in food from farming to transportation to stores to spoilage in our refrigerators and more.

The Food Recovery Hierarchy, similar to the Waste Management Hierarchy prioritizes the highest and best use of food with waste reduction, food-to-people, food-to-animals, industrial uses (food-to-animal feed or rendering services) all before composting and landfilling or incineration. While the NRDC report verifies that reducing wasted food from businesses results in a greater impact, it is still important for residents to understand how they can reduce wasted food in their home.

NRDC has partnered with the the Ad Council and SapientNitro, an advertising company, to develop a "Save the Food"
advertising campaign. The program targets consumers and their food habits at home. To view the details of the program click here.

The video (below) and tools in Eureka Recycling's Prevent Wasted Food resources can help Americans understand the importance of re-thinking how they buy, store, and waste food to help them begin making positive changes.

Save the Food Campaign

The Ad Council has teamed up with NRDC and created a Nation wide campaign to educate citizens how to better preserve food to remain edible longer.

Their video, The Extraordinary Life and Times of Strawberries, portrays an all too common issue with food purchasing, storing, and consumption habits.

The campaign includes facts, meal planning tips, shopping guidelines, explanations of best by and sell by dates, and food storage tips.