US EPA needs to phase out food waste from landfills by 2040 -local officials
US EPA needs to phase out food waste from landfills by 2040 -local officials
A group of local U.S. government officials from 18 states on Tuesday urged the Environmental Protection Agency to phase out food waste disposal in landfills by 2040 to cut emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane.
Seriously, yes. I'm heartened to hear that this is being discussed at higher, coordinated levels. Right now I'm trying compost in a rotating bin I bought for this rental place because the landlord will not pay for food waste pickup even though it's offered in our area (they also expect six units to share a single home sized recycle bin that's picked up once every two weeks 🙄). We need a system change and stop leaving it up to individuals to figure it out on our own.
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Oct 31 (Reuters) - A group of local U.S. government officials from 18 states on Tuesday urged the Environmental Protection Agency to phase out food waste disposal in landfills by 2040 to cut emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane.
The U.S. is lagging on a goal to halve food waste by 2030, and the EPA has been criticized for under-investing in the issue.
"Without fast action on methane, local governments will increasingly face the impacts of warming temperatures, sea level rise, and extreme weather events," the officials, including the mayors of Seattle and Minneapolis, said in a joint letter to the agency.
They also asked the agency to update landfill standards to better detect and mitigate methane leaks.
Methane is 28 times stronger than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas over a 100-year period.
Some cities and municipalities have voluntary household composting programs for food waste.
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Bot left out this important bit:
Food waste causes 58% of the methane emissions that come from landfills