Much of the food supply in the U.S. goes uneaten, which contributes to climate change. Some states have tried to cut food waste in landfills, but their efforts have fallen short, researchers found.
Garbage is unloaded into the Pine Tree Acres Landfill in Lenox Township, Mich., on July 28, 2022. State bans on commercial food waste have been largely ineffective, researchers found.In the U.S., more than a third of the food supply goes uneaten.
On average, the five state laws resulted in a 1.5% decrease in landfill waste between 2014 and 2018, Sanders told NPR. The researchers determined that regulators expected the laws to cut total waste going to landfills by 7-18% based on public documents and regulators’ statements to the press. The researchers compared the five states in question to a combination of other similar states that did not implement a food waste ban. By comparing the states, they could predict how much total waste they would have created if the bans had not been implemented. They gathered data on waste from what environmental state agencies reported.The researchers said they could not measure food waste directly, as that data doesn't exist.
The paper's authors said Massachusetts’ success may be partly due to certain steps the state took to make it easy for individuals and businesses to comply with the law.
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