Industry Topics

Food Waste

Food Manufacturers and Retailers Benchmark Food Waste Metrics in First-Ever Study
The food industry issued its first-ever analysis of food waste data collected directly from food manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers. The study was conducted by consulting firm BSR and commissioned by the Food Waste Reduction Alliance (FWRA), a cross-sector industry initiative led by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and the National Restaurant Association (NRA).

Read the report here.

See the press release on the study here.

Food Waste Reduction Alliance website.

FMI and GMA are working in an industry coalition focused on tackling this issue with an aggressive strategy that will send more edible food to the hungry and move food waste from landfills toward productive uses such as animal feed, waste-to-energy and composting. According to a 2012 study by the non-profit sustainability group BSR commissioned by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), post-harvest food waste levels in the U.S. are approximately 121 billion pounds per year, or 390 pounds of food waste per person annually. Most of that food waste – about 80 billion pounds a year – is being sent to landfills, contributing to greenhouse gasses and forfeiting opportunities to be used productively in other ways.

For more information on the activities of the coalition, review the article, 'On a Mission to Reduce Food Waste'

Resources:

Help Your Supermarket Cut Food Waste

Wipe Out Food Waste Webinar 1

Introduction to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for Packaging Webinar

Waste and Recycling News

EPA Food Recovery Challenge