Thanksgiving is a great holiday for enjoyment of food, family and friends. Variety and quantity of foods make this holiday a perfect time to think about leftovers and food waste. Bloomberg reports that some 312 million pounds of food will end up in U.S. trash cans this week – worth $600 million.
In the U.S., nearly 40% of all food is wasted and half of it by households. Food in trash cans goes to landfill that produces methane that is 80 times more potent than carbon in the atmosphere. The EPA reports that 58% of methane emissions come from food waste in U.S. landfills. It is on par with combined annual emissions of 15 coal-fired power plants.
Giving leftover foods to friends and freezing it for future use saves you money and reduces planet warming emissions not just on the Thanksgiving Day but every day by reducing food waste.
Project Manager, City of Austin and Member, Austin Metro Chapter, Citizens’ Climate Lobby
Submitted to the Austin American-Statesman
November 24, 2023
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