Experts outline policy roadmap to address nearly one million tons of annual food waste, spur environmental and economic benefits
Boston, MA - A new report by MASSPIRG, Clean Water Action, and Frontier Group reveals that, despite significant progress in reducing it, food waste still accounts for about 22 percent of Massachusetts’ trash, with nearly one million tons of food waste sent to landfills and incinerators each year.
When food and other organic waste is disposed of in landfills or incinerators, it generates highly potent greenhouse gas emissions that have immediate adverse effects on climate change and public health. Estimated methane emissions from Massachusetts landfills have the same climate impacts as 116,000 cars on the road for a year, and the state’s five waste incinerators spew toxic air pollutants like particulate matter and heavy metals.
While Massachusetts has made notable advancements, the state fell 20 percent short of its 2020 food waste diversion goal. In order to meet its even more ambitious 2030 goal to reduce food waste disposal by 780,000 tons per year, Massachusetts must double its rate of organic waste diversion. The good news, according to the report authors, is that there is a range of solutions at the ready, including:
- Preventing food waste at the source. By implementing robust public education campaigns and making simple updates to food labeling, Massachusetts can reduce the amount of food waste that reaches the trash can.
- Donating uneaten food. Produce, packaged foods and restaurant meals that would otherwise be wasted can be repurposed to feed people in Massachusetts communities. However, a lack of tax incentives for food donation and other structural support means that donated food only accounted for six percent of diverted food waste in 2022.
- Renewed investments in composting. Composting is a vital tool to keep organic waste out of incinerators and landfills, while also improving the health of our soil. Yet stagnating momentum means that Massachusetts’ rate of composting was cut in half from 2016 to 2022.
“While food waste is a major problem, there’s no shortage of proven solutions,” said Cindy Luppi, National Field Director at Clean Water Action. “With the necessary public investments, particularly in marginalized communities, we can dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from food going to landfills and incinerators while also advancing healthy, sustainable and innovative programs like composting.”
The report identifies the priority given to anaerobic digestion — the process of converting organic waste to methane in an oxygen-free system called a digester — as a strategy for the Commonwealth to reconsider.. State policies and investments have heavily favored anaerobic digestion at the expense of cleaner and more sustainable strategies like food waste prevention and composting. The U.S. EPA’s Food Waste Scale ranks anaerobic digestion as one of the least-preferable alternatives to landfilling and incineration.
“While anaerobic digestion has a role to play in a comprehensive waste diversion strategy, Massachusetts is putting too many eggs in this one basket,” said Tony Dutzik, Associate Director and Senior Policy Analyst at Frontier Group. “We need a balanced plan that invests in all available solutions. Reducing waste comes first.”
In April of this year, a group of 24 environmental, community, and public interest advocacy groups sent a letter to Governor Maura Healey, Environment Secretary Rebecca Tepper, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bonnie Heiple, and Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer, urging food waste reforms that would cement Massachusetts’ position as a national climate leader.
“Our Governor and her administration have committed to being climate champions. Reducing food waste remains an unrealized opportunity toward that goal,” said Janet Domenitz, Executive Director of MASSPIRG. “We urge state policymakers to take on reduction of food waste as a top priority. We have a menu of strategies to do just that.”
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Additional supporting partners and local elected officials have issued the following statements:
“I see great benefits of composting. Not only does it help divert waste from the state’s incinerators and landfills, thereby improving the health and environment of our communities, but it also helps with issues of food security by improving the quality of our soil and health of our plants. One of my initiatives as a councilor has been the renovation of Cook St community gardens, so I fully understand the value and importance of local farming initiatives and feel that composting plays an important part in our mission to reduce food scarcity and improve the health and wellbeing of residents. I support Lynn’s current efforts to promote curbside composting through Black Earth and hope the city will also fund the establishment of composting drop-off locations, and promote them through outreach and education.”
-Obed Matul, Ward 2 City Councilor, Lynn, MA
The City of Revere is actively exploring solutions to combat citywide food waste. As a neighbor to the WIN Waste facility in Saugus, we are acutely aware of the environmental impacts caused by these facilities, and want to do our part to lessen that impact. At the same time, as waste disposal services become increasingly costly for cities to implement, we believe a zero-waste approach will yield positive long-term fiscal benefits to the City and its residents.
-Tom Skwierawski, City of Revere, Chief of Planning and Development
Clean Water Action is a national 501(c)(4) environmental organization with nearly one million members nationwide. Since its founding during the campaign to pass the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, Clean Water Action has worked to win strong health and environmental protections by bringing issue expertise, solution-oriented thinking and people power to the table. Learn more at cleanwater.org.