2. Food Waste: Challenges and Opportunities
Susan Mooney Materials Management Branch U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 November 4, 2016

3. Sustainable Materials Management (SMM)
Influx of
New Material/
Resources
“One half to three quarters of annual resource inputs to industrial economies is returned to the environment as wastes within just one year.”
Weight of Nations: Material Outflows from Industrial Economies, WRI
Design and Manufacturing
Distribution
Retail
Use and Maintenance
End-of-Life Management
Processing
Lifecycle of materials
Disposal

4. SMM Offers New Perspectives on Addressing Climate Change
SMM offers new opportunities to address climate change:
Materials Management is represented by the Provision of Goods and Provision of Food, which accounts for 42% of U.S. GHG emissions.

5. SMM Strategic Plan for FY2017-2022: Three Strategic Priority Areas
The Built Environment
(buildings, roads, bridges, infrastructure)
Sustainable Management of Food
Sustainable Packaging
Additional Emphasis Areas: Sustainable Electronics Management; Lifecycle Assessment; Measurement; and International Efforts

6. Sustainable Management of Food: U.S. Wasted Food Profile
Source: Advancing Materials Management Facts and Figures 2013, EPA (June 2015)

7. The Cost of Wasted Food

8. Baseline: 218.9 pounds per person Goal: 109.4 pounds per person
Reaching the 2030 Goal
Baseline:
218.9 pounds per person
Goal:
109.4 pounds per person

9. Sustainable Management of Food
Food Recovery Challenge

10. Domestic Equivalency Savings
33,518

11. Sustainable Management of Food

12. How are communities currently tackling food waste?
Food: Too Good To Waste – Macalester-Groveland Community in Minnesota
Illinois Food Scrap Coalition – Composting Challenges & Solutions Report
Food Recovery Challenge – You can’t manage what you don’t measure!

13. A Call to Action

14. A Call to Action Seek Prevention Strategies Increase Public Awareness
 KEY Activities Identified:
Seek Prevention Strategies
Increase Public Awareness
Improve the Data
Forge New Partnerships and Expand the Existing Ones
Clarify Date Labels and Food Safety
Build Food Loss and Waste Infrastructures

15. How are the manufacturing, retail, and restaurant sectors currently tackling food waste?
Source: Food Waste Reduction Alliance’s Best Practices & Emerging Solutions Guide (Fall 2015)

16. Upcoming Products
Guide to Conducting Student School Waste Audits: A Resource for Schools
Wasted Food & Other Organics Disposed (FOOD) National Mapping Tool
National Virtual Resource Center

17. Additional EPA Tools & Programs
Local Foods, Local Places
Managing and Transforming Waste Streams Tool
Pollution Prevention Grants

18. Please visit our website:
Thank you!
Please visit our website:
Follow using #nowastedfood
Susan Mooney

19. Food Waste: Challenges and Opportunities
Susan Mooney Materials Management Branch U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 November 4, 2016

20. Sustainable Materials Management (SMM)
Influx of
New Material/
Resources
“One half to three quarters of annual resource inputs to industrial economies is returned to the environment as wastes within just one year.”
Weight of Nations: Material Outflows from Industrial Economies, WRI
Design and Manufacturing
Distribution
Retail
Use and Maintenance
End-of-Life Management
Processing
Lifecycle of materials
Disposal

21. SMM Offers New Perspectives on Addressing Climate Change
SMM offers new opportunities to address climate change:
Materials Management is represented by the Provision of Goods and Provision of Food, which accounts for 42% of U.S. GHG emissions.

22. SMM Strategic Plan for FY2017-2022: Three Strategic Priority Areas
The Built Environment
(buildings, roads, bridges, infrastructure)
Sustainable Management of Food
Sustainable Packaging
Additional Emphasis Areas: Sustainable Electronics Management; Lifecycle Assessment; Measurement; and International Efforts

23. Sustainable Management of Food: U.S. Wasted Food Profile
Source: Advancing Materials Management Facts and Figures 2013, EPA (June 2015)

24. The Cost of Wasted Food

25. Baseline: 218.9 pounds per person Goal: 109.4 pounds per person
Reaching the 2030 Goal
Baseline:
218.9 pounds per person
Goal:
109.4 pounds per person

26. Sustainable Management of Food
Food Recovery Challenge

27. Domestic Equivalency Savings
33,518

28. Sustainable Management of Food

29. How are communities currently tackling food waste?
Food: Too Good To Waste – Macalester-Groveland Community in Minnesota
Illinois Food Scrap Coalition – Composting Challenges & Solutions Report
Food Recovery Challenge – You can’t manage what you don’t measure!

30. A Call to Action

31. A Call to Action Seek Prevention Strategies Increase Public Awareness
 KEY Activities Identified:
Seek Prevention Strategies
Increase Public Awareness
Improve the Data
Forge New Partnerships and Expand the Existing Ones
Clarify Date Labels and Food Safety
Build Food Loss and Waste Infrastructures

32. How are the manufacturing, retail, and restaurant sectors currently tackling food waste?
Source: Food Waste Reduction Alliance’s Best Practices & Emerging Solutions Guide (Fall 2015)

33. Upcoming Products
Guide to Conducting Student School Waste Audits: A Resource for Schools
Wasted Food & Other Organics Disposed (FOOD) National Mapping Tool
National Virtual Resource Center

34. Additional EPA Tools & Programs
Local Foods, Local Places
Managing and Transforming Waste Streams Tool
Pollution Prevention Grants

35. Please visit our website:
Thank you!
Please visit our website:
Follow using #nowastedfood
Susan Mooney