Reduce Your Waste This Holiday Season
December 1, 2011 Roots of ChangeHow much food are you wasting during the holidays? According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the US generates more than 34 million tons of food waste each year! So what can we do? This holiday season Roots of Change recommends five simple ways to reduce your waste and help the planet.
1. Freeze Your Food – According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the U.S. generates more than 34 million tons of food waste each year! There are many things we can do to help reduce our waste. Simply freezing some of your leftovers is a simple and easy way to help preserving your goods.
2. Compost – Rather than letting your food go to waste, pile up and decay in a landfill you can put some that waste to good use. Compost can be turned into usable organic material. Please make sure to visit EPA’s Helpful Guide to ensure you know what to compost and where to find the nearest facilities. By composting our food we can help reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Donate to Local Food Banks – According to a study by Feeding America, nearly 49 million people are food insecure. That means nearly 1 in 6 of the U.S population. This holiday you can donate your untouched goods to a local food bank or pantry. Please click here to find the nearest food bank near you.
4. Be Creative. Eat Your Leftovers – Who like’s to eat the same food over and over again? For most of us we’ll need tasty and creative dishes to help finish Thanksgiving’s leftovers. Check out these delicious leftover recipes.
5. Donate Vegetable Oil for Biofuel – Many of us may not realize it but cooking oil can be reused to make biodiesel to generate electricity, produce heat and fuel vehicles. There are a number of alternative fuel organizations that are working to create clean burning bio-fuel, find one near you or for a more comprehensive list please click here.
Happy Holidays from Roots of Change
