A Word About Recycling with Ollie Maier
With the election here –this is not meant to be political – and both Thanksgiving and the holidays just a short time away, I thought this topic might be appropriate. Taken from a recent Waste Age newsletter, it was titled, “Trump administration launches initiative to reduce food waste.”
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the signing of a joint agency formal agreement under the Winning on Reducing Food Waste initiative Oct. 18.
“The agreement is aimed at improving coordination and communication across federal agencies attempting to better educate Americans on the impacts and importance of reducing food loss and waste.”
This is important because, as in our country, an estimated 30 to 40 percent of our food is wasted. This estimate comes from research done by the USDA back in 2010. Primarily in the retail and consumer levels, the research showed there was approximately 133 billion pounds and $161 billion worth of food lost that year.
“Wasted food is the largest category of material placed in municipal landfills and represents nourishment that could have helped feed families in need.”
I didn’t realize the first part, it being the largest, but common sense tells the latter part is very true. Commonsense also tells us the water, energy and labor used to produce wasted food could have been used for other meaningful purposes.
“Effectively reducing food waste will require cooperation among federal, state, tribal and local governments, faith-based institutions, environmental organizations, communities and the entire supply chain, according to the organizations.”
In the past, there has been meaningful efforts and commitments made through public-private partnerships to date, such as the U.S. Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions initiative, which aims to reduce food waste by 50 percent by 2030.
The current administration commended 23 organizations and businesses which joined in that 2030 initiative. Through that effort, they feel there are many economic opportunities and possible cost savings for businesses and individual households in reducing food waste. The administration also believes consumer education is one of the keys to the Winning on Reducing Food Waste initiative.
As a spokesperson for the EPA stated, the “EPA is proud to partner with USDA and FDA to enhance food recovery efforts and educate the public on the need for improved food waste management,” he said. “Redirecting excess food to people, animals or energy production has tremendous economic and social benefits, and that is why the Trump administration is working closely with businesses and consumers to prevent food loss and maximize the inherent value of food.”
Another spokesperson explained, “Sadly, each day too many American families struggle to meet their nutritional needs, and we at the FDA recognize the important role that reducing food waste can play in filling this critical gap,” he said. "By taking steps to address obstacles that food donation and recovery programs may face in giving unsold foods a second opportunity and helping food producers find ways to recondition their products so that they can be safely sold or donated, our aim is to both reduce food waste and nourish Americans in need.”
In the article’s closing, it noted these agencies are looking forward to also getting feedback from the public on how to better accomplish this goal.
Both my wife Mary and I grew up at a time when the adage, “Waste not, want not” was practiced – World War II and shortly after years – and it still carries over to today. Thus we, just as many of you, split meals, take "doggie bags," put on our plate only what we’ll eat and buy things we will eat before they go bad.
Till next week, do have a great one... and if you haven’t done so already, don’t forget to vote, a privilege many in other countries don’t have.
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Ollie is a local citizen concerned with the environment and helping others. A retired Air Force fighter and instructor pilot, he is a graduate of Leadership San Marcos and received his degrees at Texas State University where he worked on staff before totally retiring. For questions or comments, he invites you to call him at 512-353-7432 or e-mail omaier@txstate.edu.
