Most people don't realize how much food they throw away each day – from uneaten leftovers to old produce or food.
Here's some food for thought: Californians send 11.2 billion pounds of food to landfills annually, and organic waste makes up over 50 percent of what landfills receive each year. Unfortunately, food waste also increases greenhouse gas emissions that impact our environment.
That's why Roseville and other California communities are rethinking the way they recycle.
In 2016, California passed a bill, SB1383, that requires local jurisdictions to compost organic waste at the household level. This new law will go into effect in 2022.
This legislation aims to reduce statewide organic waste disposal by 75% by 2025, which will help reduce methane gas – a significant contributor to the rise in Earth's temperature.
Since Roseville uses the Materials Recovery Facility to source separate recyclables from trash, customers can continue to use their trash and recycling bin to recycle food waste. That waste is recovered and turned into compost.
Recycling food waste is one of the biggest changes in the trash and recycling industry in 30 years. The goal is to lower climate change super pollutants to reduce challenges including:
- Bigger fires
- Longer droughts
- Higher temperatures
- Stronger storms
Food for Soil: Addressing food insecurity while reducing impacts of climate change
Discarded food is often still fresh. Roseville plans to assist with food recovery to feed those in need by coordinating with local food banks, soup kitchens, and food recovery organizations.
The coordination includes developing partnerships with these organizations and ensuring that excess fresh food from local grocery stores and distributors are sent their way. It's our goal to address food insecurity in our community while also complying with regulations to reduce food waste at the landfill.
Diverting food waste through the residential and food insecurity programs helps significantly reduce the amount of organics landfilled, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, organic waste will be put to good use, becoming compostable soil.
This resource is available for purchase at the landfill located at 3195 Athens Ave, Lincoln, CA 95648.