Did you know that an estimated 40% of all the food produced in our country goes uneaten? Of the food that goes uneaten, around 98% of that ends up in landfills, with nearly 80% of that waste occurring at consumer-facing businesses(restaurants and grocery stores) and in homes. According to a 2016 report focused on food waste, “the United States spends over $218 billion – 1.3% of GDP – growing, processing, transporting, and disposing of food that is never eaten.” Food waste costs a household of four an average of $1,800 annually and squanders immense amounts of resources, including water, land, energy, and food. When thinking about strategies for addressing food waste, people tend to think about solutions in three categories: reduction, recovery, and diversion. Food waste reduction is simply not generating food waste. Reduction is the most economically and environmentally beneficial approach because it conserves resources, instead of wasting them. Recovery is taking food that is still fit for human consumption and donating it so that it can be consumed by other humans, often those that are food insecure. Food can also be recovered to feed animals. Diversion is the group of strategies that focuses on recycling food waste, such as composting.
Everyone has an opportunity to reduce, recover, and divert food waste. To help understand the strategies for addressing food waste and their benefits, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has created the Food Recovery Hierarchy. The Food Recovery Hierarchy is an inverted pyramid which prioritizes strategies for addressing food waste based on the most beneficial environmental outcome. See the graphic below for more information.
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There are a number of actions that you can take to address food waste at home and in your workplace. Below are some simple strategies for reducing and diverting your food waste:
- Plan meals before grocery shopping, so you purchase only what you need.
- Check your refrigerator and pantry when making your shopping list to avoid buying items you already have.
- Order only what you can finish at restaurants, or plan to take home leftovers for a future meal.
- When preparing for a large gathering, plan ahead to prevent from preparing too much food - or identify a donation location for leftovers.
- Store your produce in the right place and at the right temperature so it lasts. Fruits and vegetables should be stored in separate bins and bananas, apples, and tomatoes should be stored by independently.
- When unpacking groceries, move older products to the front of the fridge, freezer, or pantry, and put new products in the back. This is the First In, First Out plan.
- If you have space, a backyard compost bin can be a relatively small one-time investment (or you can even build one yourself) that will allow you to divert food waste from landfills to your backyard. Compost is a great addition to soil and substitute for fertilizer. To learn more on how to build your own backyard compost bin, visit here. You can also join Tennessee Environmental Council"s "Come Post Your Compost" Statewide initative.
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| We have partnered with the Tennessee Department of Education and the Tennessee Department of Health and Human Services to bring nutritious lunches and educational activities to children at three affordable housing complexes in Davidson County this summer. Lunch is served daily through Second Harvest and funded through a United States Department of Agriculture grant for summer feeding of food insecure school-aged children. Educational activities are provided once a week at each location, by OPSP staff and partners, like Tennessee State Parks, the Nashville Zoo, Turnip Green Creative Reuse, and Cumberland River Compact. Pictured above is a presentation by the Nashville Zoo to children in June.
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| The 7th Annual Urban Runoff 5K and Water Quality Festival will be Saturday, August 3rd at Shelby Bottoms Greenway/Nature Center.
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The State of Sustainability is a new podcast from TDEC's Office of Policy and Sustainable Practices. This podcast highlights sustainability initiatives throughout the state and develops a casual conversation about environmental stewardship that the average Tennessean can understand and replicate.
You can also follow the podcast on Instagram!
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| Our office hosted a free webinar on June 19, 2019, in collaboration with Best Practices Magazine, which provided an overview of advanced compressed air systems. Topics included advanced trends in compressed air best practices with items, such as optimizing pneumatics in OEM equipment, shut down optimization, heat recovery, and the upcoming 2019 Best Practices Expo.
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| TGSP Member Highlight
Cummins Filtration in Cookeville, TN is committed to fostering a clean, healthy, and safe environment. Read about their sustainability efforts in the June edition of the Tennessee Green Star Partnership Highlight.
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The Sustainable Workplace Initiative encourages TDEC employees to increase their awareness and participation in sustainability efforts in the workplace to reduce the environmental impacts associated with the department’s operations and provide outreach to their communities. This spring, TDEC’s Central Office and 8 Environmental Field Offices participated in several sustainability and outreach events including waterway cleanups and a school supplies drive.
In April, the Jackson Environmental Field Office removed more than 3,300 pounds of waste from two creeks and one lake. In May, TDEC offices collected lightly used office supplies that were donated to schools throughout the state. The Central Office alone collected approximately 205 pounds of folders, binders, rulers, staplers, and other various supplies.
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Leading by Example
Michael Meister, the Trails and Vista Administrator for State Parks, is a recent recipient of TDEC’s STAR Award. He is also a star performer when it comes to sustainability in his home. Michael replaced each of his light bulbs with LEDs and added insulation to improve energy efficiency. He also collects rain water for watering the native plants in his yard and utilizes green cleaning products.
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Juicy peaches are in season! Check out this delicious Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler from food with feeling!
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Saturday, August 3, 2019
Socket, Nashville's Sustainability Outlet
Conferences/Workshops/Training Opportunities
Various Dates
July 16-18, 2019
August 7-8, 2019
August 14-16, 2019
August 26-28, 2019
September 11-12, 2019
November 13-15, 2019
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