With the growing number of restaurants and grocery stores, food waste becomes inevitable. In all forms of business, food spoilage ending in the garbage has increased by 50% globally. As the nation struggles to encourage people from tossing the edible foods away, some companies opt for another way to reduce wasted produce in landfills.
As told in Des Moines Register report, The United States waste 40% of foods and 33 million tons of them ends up in landfills. Furthermore, Americans dump 20 pounds of food waste every month, that is $28 to $43 per month. NRDC estimated that reducing the amount of this food waste could mean feeding another 25 million of people.
The table scraps and unsold cabbages dumped to landfills are no longer reaching the end of their use as they're now put into a recycled mode. Taking a step further on the challenge, Hy-Vee Inc in West Des Moines sells end products of the recycled foods to its grocery stores. The company Chief Executive, Randy Edeker explained that the recycled food waste sold in Hy-Vee comes from outdated foods, salads that didn't sell and peelings from cutting fruits and vegetables.
Two of Hy-Vee stores in Omaha have begun the program to divert 10,000 pounds a month. Following the path, Nebraska's 25 Hy-Vee stores are estimated to monthly divert an approximate amount of 150,000 pounds. These stores offer compost created directly from its own recycling field. For stores that own gardens will also benefit from the natural fertilizer.
The solid waste in Iowa has become a stream that's constantly increasing its amount over the last years. Dan Nickey from Iowa Waste Reduction Center at the University of Northern Iowa shared his concerned on the piling up landfills, saying that grocers should be encouraged to divert the organics because rotten foods release methane that endangers the environment.
Edeker confidently addresses the company's movement of being 'on a really good path' because it's doing the right thing. All of Hy-Vee stores in Iowa sign contract with Blairsburg that's responsible for collecting and converting food waste into compost, to be used on farms and other places. The company claimed to pay GreenRU for the service to process inedible foods that are no longer able to be eaten or donated.
