Companies
Methane Producer To Build $120M Food Waste Digester In Philadelphia Area
Renewable methane producer RNG Energy Solutions has formed a joint venture with Philadelphia Energy Solutions, operator of the huge South Philadelphia refinery complex, to build a $120 million digester to convert more than 1,100 tons of food waste daily into methane gas. To be built on 22 acres of vacant land at the refinery, the Point Breeze Renewable Energy Project would take two to three years to permit and to build. The biogas project would divert food wastes from landfills, reducing the escape of methane from decomposing landfill waste into the atmosphere. The facility would produce three million cubic feet of gas a day. There is a strong market among owners of truck fleets and municipal buses for renewable methane to satisfy green-energy targets.[Image Credit: © RNG Energy Solutions LLC]
Online Retailer In U.K. Sells Wonky Beef Cuts To Reduce Waste
Selling misshapen or “wonky” fruits and vegetables at a discount is a well-established practice, but now healthy eating firm MuscleFood.com has launched a discounted wonky steaks program, selling odd shapes and sizes of two beef cuts from just $1.30 each to reduce food waste. The British company is selling the imperfect steaks in packs of 10, 20, or 30 that weigh from 3.5 ounces to 6.5 ounces each. A $39 pack of 30 works out to be $1.30 each for rump steaks; a $44 sirloin pack is $1.56 per steak. The company says the meat is free-range and grass-fed and the same quality served in restaurants. Eateries reject the cuts as too big or too small and usually end up grinding them into mincemeat.[Image Credit: © MuscleFood Ltd]
Rockefeller Grant Funds Baltimore Food Waste Initiative
Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh announced that the Rockefeller Foundation has awarded the city $200,000 to launch a long-term plan in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council to reduce food waste over the next 20 years. Baltimore becomes the second city, after Denver, to participate in the pilot initiative. The city’s sustainability agency will hire a full-time director to oversee the program for two years. The agency will award grant money to local organizations already working on food waste and composting. The program will also receive technical assistance form the NRDC. The main goals of the program are: reducing food waste by educating consumers about their role; boosting food recovery by working with grocery stores, hotels, restaurants and farmers markets to gather surplus food and distribute it to communities; and launching composting pilot programs.[Image Credit: © The Rockefeller Foundation]
N.Y. State Allocates $2M For Pantries, Municipalities To Combat Food Waste
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The N.Y. State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will award $2 million in grants to food pantries and other emergency food relief organizations as part of a comprehensive effort to reduce food waste and increase food waste recycling. Non-profit emergency food relief organizations are eligible to receive funding to purchase equipment such as refrigerators for fruits and vegetables and staff expenses that result in increased collection and distribution of food. Funds may also be used to promote the reduction of wasted food, increase food donation efforts, and to increase food scraps recycling through the construction of composting facilities or other means. Grant funding totaling $800,000 will be made available for emergency food relief organizations; $1.2 million is slotted for municipalities.[Image Credit: © New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)]
Kroger Fund Food Waste Prevention Curriculum For El-Sec Students
Grocery chain Kroger has joined a Zero Hunger | Zero Waste partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to prevent and recover food waste in U.S. elementary and secondary schools. WWF, whose WIld Classroom provides an environmental curriculum for teachers and parents, is expanding the curriculum with the help of a $400,000 grant from Kroger’s foundation to focus on promoting food conservation education and best practices. The Food Waste Warrior Toolkit, a classroom-friendly curriculum that aligns with USDA and state educational standards, turns the school cafeteria into a classroom to inspire students to become Zero Heroes by making a lifelong commitment to reduce food waste. The free toolkit was tested in Washington, D.C., using resources from science, math, ecology, conservation, and sustainability.[Image Credit: © The Kroger Co.]
Target Is Testing App That Highlights Foods Nearing “Best Used By” Dates That Sell At A Discount
A Canadian start-up that developed a food waste app is being tested at select Target stores in the Midwest and with the Loblaw (Canada) grocery chain. The Flashfood app pinpoints food close to the "best used by" or expiration dates so that users can pay via the app and then pick up the deeply discounted food at the store. Flashfood takes a cut of each sale. Stores benefit by selling food that would otherwise be tossed into the dumpster, and consumers benefit by getting lower-priced food that is still perfectly edible. Target’s goal is to reduce overall retail waste by 70 percent by 2020, and is moving forward with strategies that include waste-stream audits and an in-store tracking program to prevent wasted food at some of their stores,[Image Credit: © flashfood]
German Airport Foodservice Company Tests Surplus Food Distribution App
The foodservice subsidiary of Munich Airport is testing an app that lets airport visitors, passengers, and employees order surplus food from the airport’s eateries at discount prices. The food is available for pickup between 8:00 pm and 9:30 pm every day. The first restaurant at Munich Airport to join the Allresto pilot project is Surf & Turf in the Munich Airport Center (MAC). A Danish start-up created the "Too Good To Go" app – its goal is to avoid food waste, save money, and foster sustainability – which is now running in nine European countries.[Image Credit: © Too Good To Go]
Consumers
Using, Rather Than Tossing, Surplus Foods Saves A Lot Of Money For Family Of Four
A Boston globe writer who decided earlier this year to spend more time with her children says she needed to trim grocery costs to make up for lost income. By cutting food waste – using instead of throwing away things like wilted celery and cherry jar syrup – she got her monthly grocery bill down to about $420. That’s considerably less than a “liberal” grocery budget of $1,016, and $100 less than what the USDA calls a “thrifty” plan of $520 for a four-person family with young kids. At a time when the average American family wastes about $1,600 in food a year, Elspeth Hay says preventing food waste wasn’t really a chore this summer: “frugality tasted more like freedom.”[Image Credit: © Esther Merbt from Pixabay]
Market News
Kiwi Scientists Figure Out How To Convert Fermented Plant Pulp Into Flour
New Zealand scientists have developed a technology that transforms pinot noir grape – and other plant – fermentation by-products into zero-waste, gluten-free, vegan, low-carb, low-fat, fiber- and nutrient-rich flour. Greenspot Technologies has successfully created flour from pinot noir, sauvignon blanc, apple, beetroot, orange, carrot and parsnip pulp. The sophisticated fermentation process was developed in the research labs of the University of Auckland. The key to the process is the conversion of sugars in the pulp into nutritious protein. The flours can be used to make bread, snack bars, protein bars, biscuits, vegan products, pasta, pizza, or as a dietary supplement. The start-up is using an investment of $782,700 to spread the word in France.[Image Credit: © BY GREEN SPOT TECHNOLOGIES]
Other
No Longer Discarded, Experimental Spuds Head To Oregon’s Food Banks
Until recently, the batches of experimental potato varieties grown at an Oregon agricultural research facility were deemed unsuitable for commercial sale and carted off to landfills. But thanks to a partnership between the Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center and the Walchli Farms potato processors, most of the potatoes will go now to the Oregon Food Bank to be distributed to community food pantries across the state. The endeavor involves many hands: donated labor and equipment to harvest the potatoes; trucks provided by a trucking company; donated processing, washing, and packaging; and storage provided by a local farmer. The total haul surpassed 100,000 pounds of potatoes.[Image Credit: © Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay]
Regulation
Austin’s Eateries Must Recycle Unsold Food – Or Compost It
Austin, Texas, has barred its restaurants from trashing unsold made-to-order and other processed foods, the city’s Universal Recycling Ordinance (URO), whose goal is greater sustainability, requires eateries to compost food scraps or give them away. Food enterprises covered by the new law include restaurants, shops, and farm markets that serve made-to-order food, as well as places that prepare and process food. Employees of these establishments are required to receive training in handling the waste. The ordinance also covers dirty or used paper, like cardboard, paper towels and napkins; flowers, and landscape trimmings from restaurant plants and gardens. Violators can be fined as much as $2,000. According to a local government study, 37 percent of materials sent to landfills is organic and could be donated or composted.[Image Credit: © City of Austin]
Research & Insights
Cold Plasma Technology: Future Food Could Easily Be Made Mold-Free
Plant scientists in Australia are testing the use of cold lightning plasma technology to extend the life of fruits and vegetables by keeping them mold-free. Food passes under a cold “flame” plasma, similar to lightning in a storm, that kills bacterial, fungal and viral contaminations. Plant scientist Kirsty Bayliss says the technology could result in a higher yield, greater revenue, and a chemical-free product that is more attractive to buyers. She has worked extensively with strawberry and avocado growers, treating mold and extending shelf life. "We've had avocados that are three weeks after harvest and are still fresh," she says, adding that the next major step for the technology is to create a company and garner investment.[Image Credit: © Murdoch University]
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