Meeting the Challenge

Managing Food Waste

Now more than ever, global warming, land, and
air pollution directly affect the quality of our
lives. Fortunately, while there's no single
"silver bullet" for managing and getting rid of
the world's waste, even the simple things we
do can have an important impact on the environment—like using a disposer to help
keep food waste out of landfills.





Facts & Figures*

• In the United States, about 250 million tons of municipal solid waste (otherwise known as trash or garbage) was generated in 2008.
• About 135 million tons of municipal solid waste (54%) was discarded in landfills.
• Food waste accounted for 31.79 million tons (or 12.7%) of total municipal solid waste.
• Only 2.5% of the food waste generated was recovered.
• The amount of food waste generated in the U.S. in 2008 (31.7 million tons) has more than doubled since 1960 (12.2 million tons).

*Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2008

Did you know?

The average American family of four generates 36 pounds of food waste each week—nearly 2,000 pounds a year.