![]() When we send food and other organic materials to landfills or combustion facilities, we throw away the valuable nutrients and carbon contained in those materials. 3 Wasted food is responsible for 58% of landfill methane emissions. Municipal solid waste landfills are the third largest source of human-related methane emissions in the U.S, accounting for approximately 14% of methane emissions in 2021. When food and other organic materials decompose in a landfill where anaerobic conditions (without oxygen) are present, bacteria break down the materials and generate methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. When yard trimmings, wood and paper/paperboard are added to food, these organic materials comprise 51.4 percent of municipal solid waste in landfills. In the U.S., food is the single most common material sent to landfills, comprising 24.1 percent of municipal solid waste. Only 5% of that wasted food was composted. ![]() In 2019, 66.2 million tons of wasted food were generated in the food retail, food service and residential sectors in the United States. ![]() EPA Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: 2018 Fact Sheet (pdf)(4.9 MB). Total Municipal Solid Waste Landfilled (by material), 2018.
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