It’s not surprising that household garbage — including food waste — increases by as much as 25 percent during the holiday season between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. What is surprising is that in America, food is the largest category of waste in municipal landfills, and it releases an enormous amount of greenhouse gases as it decomposes. When food waste goes into a landfill it releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
The good news is that in 2015, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced an ambitious goal to cut domestic food waste in half by 2030. The feds want you — and every other American — to go from tossing 218.9 pounds of food in the garbage each year to throwing away just 109.4 pounds each.
And the holidays are a great place to start. Whatever the size of your Thanksgiving guest list, you can do your part to reduce the environmental impact of your get-together. Have a look below for some tips.