Join the Down With Food Waste Movement

Each year, rotting food waste is responsible for 18% of landfill methane emissions, or about 21 million tons of methane gas. [1]Managing food waste is challenging, but there are solutions that can divert food waste from landfills. This Earth Day, InSinkErator is encouraging families to take action by joining our new Down With Food Waste movement.

By taking a few simple steps, people can make a big difference when it comes to diverting food waste from the landfill. When you join the Down With Food Waste movement, you make a personal pledge to use one or more of the following strategies to reduce household food waste.

You can pledge to shop responsibly.

Shopping responsibly means resisting the temptation to hoard groceries, especially fresh foods that can spoil. Try choosing shelf-stable foods like canned goods, pastas, rice, and legumes.

You can pledge to plan meals and save leftovers.

Get in the habit of checking expiration dates so you can use foods before they go bad. Consider planning meals that build on one another and provide leftovers for lunches and second meals.

You can pledge to use your green bin or try composting.

If your community has a green bin program, make sure you don't place organic waste in your trash that can be collected, diverted from the landfill, and turned into compost. Home composting can turn your food scraps into fertile soil that boosts the productivity of gardens and landscapes. High-quality compost improves soil grade, supports beneficial organisms in the soil, and encourages healthier plants to grow. When plants are healthier, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides can be minimized.

You can pledge to use your garbage disposal more frequently.

Using a garbage disposal reduces the amount of food waste taken to landfills and the resulting methane emissions that contribute to global warming. With even moderate use, garbage disposals are proven to reduce the amount of food waste in your trash by up to 30%. What’s more, advanced wastewater treatment plants are capable of converting disposal waste into renewable energy and beneficial fertilizer. No matter where you live, using a garbage disposal in conjunction with wastewater treatment will lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) by at least 50%. [2]If your community uses an advanced wastewater treatment plant, GWP is lowered by 90%.

"Every time we waste food, we're not just throwing away a meal, we're throwing away precious resources and contributing to a global food waste crisis that affects us all.” said Joe Dillion, President, InSinkErator. "For 85 years, we have been manufacturing food waste disposals that simplify responsible food waste management for households. We encourage everyone to join the Down With Food Waste movement andtake steps toward diverting food waste from landfills.”

This Earth Day, InSinkErator invites you to make a difference by joining our Down With Food Waste movement. Together, we can take steps to divert food waste from the landfill and slow the impact of climate change. Join the movement.

1 Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2016, 2 Source: PE Americas, Life Cycle Assessment, 2011