EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge and WasteWise Program Thanks for the opportunity to present with your group today. My name is Janet Bowen and I’ve been at EPA for 25 years. The last several years working with sustainable operations, waste diversion, and composting. Because EPA’s mission is to protect human health and the environment, one of the programs I work with is aimed at reducing food waste. As you may know, food waste has a tremendous impact on the environment, due to the vast resources required to grow our food. Wasted food in our landfills contributes to methane, a gas that has 21 times the impact on climate change as CO2. In addition, when we waste food, hungry people are denied the opportunity to eat that good, and healthy food. My aim is to inspire you to think about your own food consumption habits and to help you and your hospital food waste in the first place, donate to hungry people, agriculture, or industry, and look into composting. By considering food waste and its impacts on our local communities and environments, we can work together to save resources today so we can ensure healthy communities for tomorrow. Sustainable Food Management is how we will accomplish this. Janet Bowen, EPA Region 1 June 28, 2016

U.S. 2030 Food Waste Reduction Goal On September 16, 2015, US EPA Deputy Administrator Meiburg and USDA Secretary Vilsack announced the United States’ first-ever national food waste reduction goal. Reduce wasted food by 50% by 2030. https://www.choosemyplate.gov/lets-talk-trash The USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) has developed a new infographic — Let’s Talk Trash (1-page infographic, 2-page infographic) — to inform American consumers about food loss and waste We estimate that currently in the United States more than 31% of edible food goes to waste. wasted food is also the largest waste stream going to disposal in our country. In 2013 more than 37 million tons of food waste was generated. Of the total food waste generated 5 percent was diverted from the municipal solid waste stream The 2030 Food Loss and Waste Domestic 50% Reduction goal is a federal goal with USDA and EPA taking leadership roles. The baseline for the goal is Per Capita food waste for 2010 (218.9 lbs/person). The 2030 goal is 109.4 lbs/person. The measure focuses on food loss and waste at the retail and consumer level. To quote EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy "Let's feed people, not landfills. By reducing wasted food in landfills, we cut harmful methane emissions that fuel climate change, conserve our natural resources, and protect our planet for future generations" The USDA/EPA announcement presents a major environmental, social and public health opportunity for the U.S., and we're proud to be part of a national effort to reduce the food that goes into landfills." https://www.choosemyplate.gov/lets-talk-trash

Did you know? Around 37 million tons of food waste was generated, in 2013, 95 percent of which was thrown away into landfills or incinerators. Where are you on EPA’s Food Hierarchy? The Food Recovery Challenge helps organizations find various solutions to food waste. The foundation for this approach in reducing food sent to landfills is the food recovery hierarchy, where the top priority is to reduce waste in the first place. Think of a buffet at your favorite restaurant - An example of food waste prevention for this restaurant is tracking which dishes generally have more leftovers, and either making less of that dish or substituting it with a more popular dish, rather than continuing to throw the leftovers away. The hierarchy then prioritizes food donation to hungry people, then to feed animals, followed by industrial uses of food waste, through donation of fats, oils and grease, for example. Composting of food scraps is next in line. And as a last resort we either burn or landfill our food waste.

EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge The Food Recovery Challenge is a free voluntary program that provides technical assistance as well as recognition for efforts your organization makes to reduce food waste going to local landfills. To date about to 800 organizations have joined the Challenge. 41 of the 71 New England partners are from MA; We also have 17 Endorsers In 2014 FRC participants Nationally: Diverted nearly 606,000 tons of wasted food. Donated 88,500 tons of food to people in need. Saved 1.8 million metric tons of CO2 through source reduction. Saved 820 thousand metric tons of CO2 through composting. https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/food-recovery-challenge-frc

Is the Food Recovery Challenge Right for You? Awards and Recognition Improve your bottom line Through cost savings from improved purchasing and preparation practices as well as reduced waste disposal fees Access free technical assistance For your baseline assessment and food recovery activities with free access to a web based data tracking tool and food waste cost calculator Support Your community by using food to feed people not landfills Reduce your environmental footprint Potential benefits from this program include: possible cost savings of food waste prevention through reduced costs for waste pickup and smarter purchasing, helping your communities through food recovery and donating to hungry people, and GHG reductions by keeping food waste from filling up local landfills. For communities with sustainability plans and climate change goals, reducing food waste is key. If you do choose to compost, your local community can also benefit from returning important nutrients to the soil. Organizations can also become endorsers by committing to inspire others to sign on as participants. EPA, in turn, helps FRC participants achieve their food recovery goals by providing technical assistance, opportunities for public recognition, and a web-based tool to track food recovery efforts.

Want to join the Food Recovery Challenge? Join EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge at https://connect.re-trac.com/register/epafrc Submit baseline food waste data within 90 days of joining Set goal for reducing the amount of food waste reaching landfills. Commit to a numerical increase in at least one of the three food diversion categories (prevention, donation, and composting) Report annually Done using the SMM Data Management Tool To join the Food Recovery Challenge, go the FRC website and sign-up. The FRC is free. First, Assess it! Investigate your current food waste & food recovery practices ( or baseline) Then, Commit to it! Enter your baseline data and goals into the free online database . You set a goal with a commitment to reduce food waste, donate and/or compost – any one or a combination of these. Next, Do it! Pursue food waste reduction and recovery activities. Every year, Track it! Report your food recovery activities annually. And best of all Earn it! Apply for our national awards, and compete for regional recognition

What is WasteWise? WasteWise is a free, voluntary EPA partnership program. WasteWise helps organizations eliminate costly waste through waste reduction practices —benefiting the organization’s bottom line and the environment. Over 1000 WasteWise partners; in MA 72 partners have participated in the program at some point (25 active MA WasteWise partners) Track all your waste reduction efforts Awards and Recognition Improve your bottom line Access free technical assistance For your baseline assessment and waste reduction activities with free access to a web based data tracking tool Climate report Reduce your environmental footprint

Want to Join WasteWise? Registration is simple and available online. https://connect.re-trac.com/register/epawastewise WasteWise website: https://www.epa.gov/smm/wastewise ** Both WasteWise and Food Recovery Challenge as well as other programs use ReTRAC Connect, if you are already have a ReTRAC Connect account you can join from your account. 8

Join the WasteWise and Food Recovery Challenge email group! Janet Bowen bowen.janet@epa.gov 617-918-1795 Christine Beling beling.christine@epa.gov 617-918-1792 I have a food/waste non sector specific email group that sends messages every other week Join the WasteWise and Food Recovery Challenge email group!