JANUARY 20, 2015 BY
An amazingly extensive resource of links and news from the EPA’s Virginia Till
(click on bolded heading to jump to that section)
- 1. EPA Region 8 welcomes new Food Recovery Endorsers: High Country Conservation Center and We Don’t Waste.
- Update on EPA Food Recovery Challenge and USDA Food Waste Challenge
- On-Site Systems for Managing Food Waste, December 2014
- Food Waste Management Calculator
- Food Waste Reduction Tip: Save More by Knowing Your Food’s Shelf Life, LeanPath December 2014 newsletter
- Super Bowl XLVIII – Green Restaurant
- “$27 BILLION” REVISITED THE COST OF CANADA’S ANNUAL FOOD WASTE, 12/10/14
- Colorado Food Systems Advisory Council
- USDA Delivers on Ways to Prevent Food Waste, 12/15/14
- EPA Region 8 Administrator Talks Food Waste
- Compost Specific Storm Water Management Guidance, December 2014 BioCycle Magazine
- Connections: Understanding Urban Soil Lead, December 2014 BioCycle Magazine
- Wastewater Treatment Plant In Compliance — And Off The Grid, December 2014 BioCycle Magazine
- Powering A Creamery On Food Waste Feedstocks, December 2014 BioCycle Magazine
- Composter Brings On Residential Food Scraps Stream, December 2014 BioCycle Magazine
- Anaerobic Digest, December 2014 BioCycle Magazine
- Compost Roundup, December 2014 BioCycle Magazine
- The Food Waste Fiasco: You Have to See It to Believe it, updated 11/29/14
- Food trends to watch in 2015, 12/3/14
- KSU Biodiesel Initiative gives students hands-on experience, 11/26/14
- New “What a Waste”™ Program Launches Nationwide, with Washington D.C. as the First Stop, 12/11/14
- EPA SMM webinar; The Food Waste Reduction Alliance, a Unique Collaboration, 1/15/15 at 1pm EST
- Food Service Management Company 101 webinar, 1/7/15 from 2-3pm EST
Disclaimer: Some of the events, articles and websites listed in this email are not sponsored by EPA. EPA is listing them for your information only. EPA is not responsible for their content and does not endorse any commercial product, service, enterprise, or policy that may be included.
Program Updates
- EPA Region 8 welcomes new Food Recovery Endorser High Country Conservation Center and We Don’t Waste.
Welcome new Endorsers!
Click on the links below to see what great things our new Endorsers already do for the environment and the community! EPA Region 8 England looks forward to working with these new Endorsers!
New Food Recovery Challenge Endorsers
High Country Conservation Center
Our mission is to promote practical solutions for waste reduction and resource conservation in our mountain community. Our current focus areas include waste reduction, energy efficiency and clean energy, and sustainable food production. Just a few of our programs include Composting in the Schools, home energy audits and ratings, community gardens and sustainable business programs.
http://www.highcountryconservation.org/
We Don’t Waste
There is good food available. Every day We Don’t Waste distributes nutritious restaurant grade food to vulnerable populations. We believe we have a responsibility to find solutions to hunger and reduce food waste in a collaborative manner. We Don’t Waste is an innovative provider of food for the hungry. We collect unused food from venues, caterers, restaurants, and other food purveyors and distribute the food to Denver’s underserved populations.
- Update on EPA Food Recovery Challenge and USDA Food Waste Challenge
If you are currently participating in both EPA’s FRC and USDA’s Food Waste Challenge, you should have received an email from the WasteWise helpline (for the Food Recovery Challenge) on December 12, 2014.
To further streamline reporting as we move into 2015, EPA and USDA will keep two separate lists of participants. Your membership in the EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge will not be affected by this change and your FRC membership will contribute to the broader U.S. Food Waste Challenge. However, you will no longer be listed on the USDA website if you have not also completed the USDA food waste activity form available at: http://www.usda.gov/oce/foodwaste/join.htm
For more information on both programs, please visit:
EPA Food Recovery Challenge— http://www.epa.gov/smm/foodrecovery/index.htm
USDA Food Waste Challenge— http://www.usda.gov/oce/foodwaste/
Tools/Case Studies
- On-Site Systems for Managing Food Waste, December 2014
The Massachusetts commercial organics waste ban, which applies to all businesses and institutions disposing of one ton or more of food waste per week, took effect on October 1, 2014. There are many cost effective ways you can comply with the new commercial food waste ban. Delivering food waste to an off-site composting or anaerobic digestion facility through a hauler is a common strategy, but other options include donating surplus food, reducing waste through purchasing controls and production modifications, and exploring technologies to manage and process food waste on site.
View report: http://www.recyclingworksma.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/On-Site-Systems.pdf
Also check out this page, which provides guidance on the full range of options for complying with the commercial organics waste ban: http://www.recyclingworksma.com/commercial-organics-waste-ban/
- Food Waste Management Calculator
The EPA Sustainable Food Management webpages offer various resources and tools that can address multiple tiers of the Food Recovery Hierarchy. One tool is the Food Waste Management Calculator that can assist in various “back of the envelope” calculations. If you want to determine the payback for various scenarios (food waste disposal, donation, reducing food waste, composting, recycling of yellow grease) in your kitchen restaurant, for example, you can use this tool to get a ballpark idea where to start making changes. Tools and additional resources can be found here: http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/foodwaste/tools/index.htm. Additional resources can be found on this page: http://www.epa.gov/foodrecovery/fd-tools_rescrs.htm
- Food Waste Reduction Tip: Save More by Knowing Your Food’s Shelf Life, LeanPath December 2014 newsletter
Food expiration dates have been getting a lot of attention lately, especially since the National Resource Defense Council released their detailed report on the often-confusing metric in September 2013. While it’s great to see light being shed on the facts surrounding food date labels, it can still be tough to know what exactly to do now that we know date labels are not the end-all-be-all of food freshness or safety.
Fortunately, the folks behind StillTasty have set out to make it easier than ever to find out exactly how long you can save food items.
(I used this website just yesterday to determine if that old container of vegetable shortening in my cupboard was still edible for use in my snickerdoodles… it wasn’t J.)
The website is a searchable database of food items, letting you get very specific with the food item you’re looking up, even giving you different shelf lifes depending on storage method. The site also has a useful blog and answers common questions about food expiration and storage. Visit http://www.stilltasty.com and get tips on keeping your food fresh, safe, and tasty!
View the entire LeanPath December 2014 newsletter: http://www.leanpath.com/newsletter/dec2014.html?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=15293270&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–eawpcVSRs-ZHVSu0c5q_ZXNy8iV6hHqPdBPJwofAF1QSL2qZGfCPTbIq0ELYGNJDK4X7T6yJMBA2XU1vKJv7KBaT4Jw&_hsmi=15293270
- Super Bowl XLVIII – Green Restaurant (excerpt from Green Restaurant News)
Since it IS Super Bowl Season, I thought you might find this interesting.
| First Green Restaurant® Super Bowl & First Green Restaurant® stadiumIn February, [Green Restaurant News] announced that Super Bowl XLVIII (2014) was the first to have all of its foodservice be Certified Green Restaurants®. All 200 foodservice operations, big and small, at MetLife Stadium, worked for months before the Super Bowl, to become the first stadium to have its entire foodservice meet this rigorous environmental standard. We would say that this is a touchdown for the environment. Learn more about the 61 environmental steps MetLife Stadium implemented. |
- “$27 BILLION” REVISITED THE COST OF CANADA’S ANNUAL FOOD WASTE, 12/10/14
Legislation
- Colorado Food Systems Advisory Council
Do you know about the Colorado Food Systems Advisory Council? Established in 2010, this advisory committee makes recommendations (not policy) to the Colorado General Assembly and to the appropriate regulatory agencies. The charge of the council is to advance recommendations that strengthen healthy food access for all Coloradans through Colorado agriculture and local food systems and economies. The COFSAC is the state conduit for hearing, reviewing, and advancing critical food systems issue in which state government does or could play a role. How does the Council work?
The Council accomplishes its charge through the following:
- Identify and use existing studies relevant to the food system
- Work with and develop relationships with other task forces, committees, and/or organizations pursuing similar objectives
- Develop recommendations that promote the building of robust, resilient, and long-term local food economy
- Develop recommendations regarding hunger and food access
- Collaborate with local and regional food policy councils in the State
- Promote “Colorado Proud”
For more information: http://www.cofoodsystemscouncil.org/
Press Release/Articles
- USDA Delivers on Ways to Prevent Food Waste, 12/15/14
Mentions Hannaford, an EPA Food Recovery Challenge partner
http://blogs.usda.gov/2014/12/15/usda-delivers-on-ways-to-prevent-food-waste/
- EPA Region 8 Administrator Talks Food Waste
During EPA’s Food Recovery Week of Action in November, EPA Region 8’s Regional Administrator Shaun McGrath spoke on Aspen Public Radio and attended a film screening of Taste the Waste (http://tastethewaste.com/). As part of a coordinated event in Aspen co-sponsored by Pitkin County Solid Waste Center, a Food Recovery Challenge Endorser, Shaun helped kick off the county’s effort to increase restaurant participation in recycling food scraps by composting instead of sending them to the local landfill. Listen to the full radio story here: http://aspenpublicradio.org/post/composting-catching-aspen-restaurants-homes
- Compost Specific Storm Water Management Guidance, December 2014 BioCycle Magazine
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is seeking input on guidance it is developing to address storm water management at composting operations.
http://www.biocycle.net/2014/12/17/compost-specific-storm-water-management-guidance/
- Connections: Understanding Urban Soil Lead, December 2014 BioCycle Magazine
http://www.biocycle.net/2014/12/18/connections-understanding-urban-soil-lead/
- Wastewater Treatment Plant In Compliance — And Off The Grid, December 2014 BioCycle Magazine
http://www.biocycle.net/2014/12/17/wastewater-treatment-plant-in-compliance-and-off-the-grid/
- Powering A Creamery On Food Waste Feedstocks, December 2014 BioCycle Magazine
To help make the investment in an AD plant pencil out, a dairy and creamery in southern England threw its hat into the municipal and commercial organics processing arena.
http://www.biocycle.net/2014/12/17/powering-a-creamery-on-food-waste-feedstocks/
- Composter Brings On Residential Food Scraps Stream, December 2014 BioCycle Magazine
http://www.biocycle.net/2014/12/17/composter-brings-on-residential-food-scraps-stream/
- Anaerobic Digest, December 2014 BioCycle Magazine
http://www.biocycle.net/2014/12/16/anaerobic-digest-45/
- 18. Compost Roundup, December 2014 BioCycle Magazine
http://www.biocycle.net/2014/12/16/composting-roundup-47/
- The Food Waste Fiasco: You Have to See It to Believe it, updated 11/29/14
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rob-greenfield/the-food-waste-fiasco_b_5896154.html
- Food trends to watch in 2015, 12/3/14
Waste Not, Want Not: Environmental sustainability remains among the hottest menu trends. As with most maturing trends, sub-trends emerge over time; in 2015, food waste reduction and management is at the forefront of restaurant operations. Composting, recycling and donating are all tactics of food waste strategies tying into both sustainability and social responsibility. In addition, food costs are once again on the rise and back on operators’ list of top challenges, spurring restaurants to take a closer look at minimizing waste and surplus as a cost-management tool.
View entire article: http://www.restaurant.org/News-Research/News/Food-trends-to-watch-in-2015
- KSU Biodiesel Initiative gives students hands-on experience, 11/26/14
- New “What a Waste”™ Program Launches Nationwide, with Washington D.C. as the First Stop, 12/11/14
LeanPath and the National Foundation to End Senior Hunger (NFESH) announced that they are teaming up to help feed more hungry seniors by focusing on food waste prevention across community-based, nonprofit nutrition programs that provide meals to seniors.
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The program, called “What a Waste™,” is an innovative anti-hunger initiative, designed by the National Foundation to End Senior Hunger. It teaches senior nutrition programs how to identify unnecessary food waste and reduce it, so the programs are able to feed more seniors with the limited resources they have available. View press release: http://blog.leanpath.com/leanpath-and-the-national-foundation-to-end-senior-hunger?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=15293270&_hsenc=p2ANqtz–MoU0xAydDyGvT3Lo9qDdjxkRVu2B1t-ONp-k-2vMriyJGMRpSBY3gZRB7IcXv_lWmC0v7sdjfofSrEMhntJsVoFKg1A&_hsmi=15293270
Webinars
- EPA SMM webinar; The Food Waste Reduction Alliance, a Unique Collaboration, 1/15/15 at 1pm EST
Join EPA for a free webinar on Thursday, January 15th 2015 at 1:00pm -2:30pm EST
The issue of food ”waste” is a hot topic among sustainability professionals, government agencies, media and the general public. Stresses on food production systems due to multiple social, economic and environmental factors have revealed alarming statistics about the amount, causes and consequences of wasted food in the US and globally. This presentation will dive into the wasted food problem and share information about the Food Waste Reduction Alliance, a unique collaboration working to address it. Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/100000000064935416
- Food Service Management Company 101 webinar, 1/7/15 from 2-3pm EST
Join this webinar that will present the results of two new reports–Corporate Food Service Management 101 and Leveraging Food Service Contracts–based on interviews and research investigating the management structure of these companies and the principle challenges and opportunities to increase local purchasing by institutions that contract with them. This webinar is hosted by the FINE supply chain project. Find out more and/or register: http://www.farmtoinstitution.org/event/webinar-food-service-management-companies-101
This email update was provided by Virginia Till of EPA Region 8. I am the EPA Region 8 Recycling Specialist. I am available to help you address any challenges you might be facing as you work to reduce your environmental impacts, especially on food and other waste reduction efforts. I welcome the opportunity to share your successes with other Food Recovery Challenge members that may be facing similar situations. My intention in these e-mails is to share information that may help in your work. Please feel free to reply and let me know how this e-mail network can be more helpful for you, or if you have any questions or concerns. Also let me know if you would prefer not to receive these messages.
