Description
Composting and food waste
Growing, raising, processing and delivering food uses a lot of resources – water, land, fuel, and energy. Nearly 40% of food produced in America is wasted.
Read more about food waste data here
A 2022 Minneapolis waste sort found that 38.3% of residential garbage is compostable materials.
- 35.2% organics
- 3.1% yard waste
It also found that there’s a lot of edible food in garbage, recycling and organics carts.
- Garbage carts – 25.1% edible food
- Organics carts – 23.5% edible food
- Recycling carts – 1.7% edible food
Read about the 2022 Study here
Reducing wasted food:
- Saves resources from being wasted
- Reduces emissions from improper disposal of organic materials
- Saves families money
Read more about preventing food waste here
Indicators
Indicators help us track our progress towards our goals. The indicators for this strategy are:
- Percent of households enrolled in the City’s organics program
- Percent change in enrollment since 2019
What’s happening now
- We’re supporting community groups that are implementing their own Innovative Waste Reduction projects. Funding for these grants is from the Climate Legacy Initiative.
- We attend community events to educate residents about recycling and organics recycling. We also promote Hennepin County grants and resources.
- We pushed for the adoption of the EPR for packaging and printed paper bill. It became law in the 2024 legislative session. We continue to follow and provide information to the State for successful implementation of the new law.
Read more about the EPR packaging and printed paper bill here
Request accessible format
If you need help with this information, please email climate tracker support or call 311 or 612-673-3000.
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