1. On A Mission to Reduce Food Waste
NCSL Conference, May 2013
Jeanne von Zastrow, FMI
jvonzastrow@fmi.org
2. Food Wastes
The organic
residues generated
by growing,
processing,
handling, storage,
sale, preparation,
cooking, serving
of foods
Food Waste = Global, National and Local Issue!
3. Big Case to Reduce Food Waste
Globally:
•From 6 to 9 billion by 2050
•l/2 live on $2.50 per day
•Food shortages, climate changes, droughts
United States:
•30 - 40% food grown = wasted
•Single largest component in landfill
•There are alternatives
•Everyone feels guilty about wasting food
•Shared burden and responsibility to change
5. FWRA Key Goals
REDUCEREDUCE
REUSE
RECYCLE
Food loss that can be prevented
Divert good food to food banks
before it is lost
Unavoidable food waste that can’t
be reused (compost, animals, energy)
7. FWRA Strategy = Our Own Four Walls
Best
Identify and Share
Best Practices
And Emerging
Solutions
Work With AllWork With All
Stakeholders onStakeholders on
SolutionsSolutions
AssessAssess
State of Industry,State of Industry,
OpportunitiesOpportunities
BarriersBarriers
8. Total Food Waste DISPOSED = 80 Billion Pounds
8
Tier 1 estimate of food waste disposed in the U.S.
with only Industrial and Grocery Stores updated with Tier 2 data
The Tier 1 data is illustrative but limited as a numerous data gaps exist and a number of assumptions and
extrapolations have been made in order to derive this estimation.
All of Tier 1 data is based on a combination of secondary data from multiple sources
Retail = 1.7 Billion
Suppliers = 2.4 Billion
9. Cost of Food Waste sent to Landfill is Significant
9
Estimated amount
disposed,
entire US
Estimated
tipping cost,
entire US
Average cost
per survey
respondent
Manufacturing 2.4 billion pounds $59 million* $750,000
Retail/Wholesale 1.7 billion pounds $42 million* $960,000
Combined Sectors 4.1 billion pounds $101 million* --
*
Based on a 2012 national average tipping cost for the largest public and private landfills of
$49.27 per ton (4.9c/pound), from Waste Recycling News
Nationwide tipping costs for manufacturing, retail, and wholesale
sectors are an estimated $101 million.
10. Different Operations = Diverting in Different Ways
Destination of Food Waste Diverted from Landfill
(As a percentage of total food waste diverted)
Manufacturing Sector (n=11) Retail Sector (n=9)
11. Next Steps?
Sharing Best Practices
Education, healthy competition =Education, healthy competition =
Industry wide improvementIndustry wide improvement
12. Prevent Waste in First Place!
Stop and Shop
Saved One Million Dollars
by changing produce displays
From 4 day to 2 day supply
13. Better Promotions that Help ConsumersBetter Promotions that Help Consumers
• Buy One – Get One Free – LATER!
• Buy One + Share One -
• “Mix and Match” – choose 2 of 5 options
15. Starts "aerobic" decomposition without releasing methane
Stores can stock-pile organic waste on-site
Jump start composting process prior to hauling to composter
Stores with low volume of organic waste – saves $ of weekly pick up
Radical Innovation = + Bio Bin
16. Hannaford and Kidz
•59 stores are composting
•Brick End Farm creates compost
•Kidz to Kidz create artwork
•Compost sold at Hannaford
•Kidz to Kidz get part of proceeds
18. There Are Major Barriers!!
18
Are there barriers, either internal
or external, that prevent your
company from donating more
unsalable food?
Yes: 77% No: 23%
Are there barriers, either internal
or external, that prevent your
company from reusing and
recycling more food waste?
Yes: 88% No: 12%
Manuf.1
Ret/Whol.1
Transportation
constraints
63% 42%
Liability concerns 50% 67%
Insufficient storage/
refrigeration at food
bank
50% 50%
Regulatory
constraints
Labels and
dating
confusion
50% 17%
Insufficient storage/
refrigeration onsite
38% 33%
Manuf.1
Ret/Whol.1
Insufficient
recycling
options –
infrastructur
e!
91% 83%
Transportation
constraints
73% 75%
Liability
concerns
55% 50%
Food safety concerns
for collection and
storage
36% 50%
1
among respondents who indicated that barriers are present
Transportation constraints, liability concerns & insufficient recycling
options are the most common barriers to greater donation &
recycling.
20. Barriers = Internal Policies/Liability Concerns
PROBLEM:
• Fiber One Bars - FDA Class 1 Recall
• Traditional communication = Return or Destroy
RADICAL THINKING:
• Can this safe product be donated?
• Could Feeding America repack?
RESULT?
• 2,000 cases (120,000 bars) donated
21. Our Engagement with Stakeholders
• EPA – FWRA Advisory Committee
• USDA new Best Practices Showcase
• Collaboration with Feeding America
• Massachusetts success to emulate
• Big NYC event – UNEP, EPA, USDA
22. Can You Help?
•Work with state food/grocer associations
•Help remove barriers
23. Key Next Steps Together?
• Find ways to help educate consumers from
kindergarten to retirement!
• Average US household throws away $2,200 in
food waste annually
• That number is UP 50% since 1974
24. UK - WRAP – Consumer Facing Initiative to Create Behavior Change
1. Major media coverage
2. Practical tools for consumers
3. Engaging restaurants, chefs, supermarkets and government
“The campaign has helped
1.8 million UK households
prevent over 130,000 tonnes
of food waste since 2007.”
25. Radical Collaboration + Radical
Innovation = Success
!
.
Enthusiasm to attack food waste from farm to fork is moving like a tidal wav.
Tidal wave of enthusiasm
Jump in!
26.
27. * University of
2,060,00
0
servings of meat feeding hungry people
125
tons diverted from landfill
$13,00
0
annual savings in
landfill tipping fees
Editor's Notes
MICHAEL WHY WORK ON FOOD WASTE? -This is a triple-bottom line issue: profit, planet, and people and an issue that is very important to our industry. BUSINESS From a business standpoint- reducing food waste represents opportunities for increased efficiency and lower costs. ENVIRONMENTAL -Environmental impacts of food waste in landfills are far greater than of packaging in landfills. In fact, food waste is 5 times more impactful in a landfill than packaging waste. Also, the environmental impact of growing and producing food that doesn’t get consumed are very significant. ENVIRONMENTAL -Environmental impacts of food waste in landfills are far greater than of packaging in landfills. In fact, food waste is 5 times more impactful in a landfill than packaging waste. -Food waste in landfills creates methane gas, which is a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than CO2. -All the resources that go into growing, producing, and shipping food is wasted if it’s not consumed and thrown away. SOCIAL -1 in 6 Americans struggle with hunger in the U.S. One in 3 children do. -Our industries donate millions of pounds of food every year to food banks, but we can do more.
JEANNE WHO IS PARTICIPATING -These are the companies involved in our effort.
Manufacturers have long known that we must: 1.-Reduce waste that can be prevented 2.-Reuse waste that cannot be prevented 3.-Recycle waste that cannot be reused This can further be broken down into the food waste recovery hierarchy
GDF Strategy : Assess : The Assessment Committee is adding to the existing data on food waste in two ways. First, we hired the non-profit BSR to look at all the existing studies on food waste, pull them apart, compare methodology and definitions, and put them back together into a “meta-study.” This gave us data that we were more confident in. Next, we surveyed GMA, FMI, and NRA members to understand exactly what is happening in our “own four walls.” That survey data is being gathered now and the final report will be out by the end of 2012. We’ll update that survey year-to-year to track industry progress as we adopt best practices. BMPs and Solutions : The Communications Committee is reaching out to stakeholders, keeping key groups informed of our work like the EPA, and recruiting new members, as needed. Also the Emerging Solutions and Best Practices Committee is looking at the new technologies that might be promoted or piloted to help reduce food waste or find alternative uses for that waste. This group is also creating a best practices guide to help streamline practices within and across industries. Policy : The Policy Committee is looking to understand what low-cost policy priorities the private sector might support to incent more food donation or remove barriers to developing infrastructure to prove more alternatives to landfills.
Note: respondents felt least confident about these data points (5 on a 10 point scale – vs. 7.5-8 for other questions) Tier 1 DISPOSED only: 15,851 (FSR) +10,780 (QSR) = 26,631 million pounds (i.e. 26.6 billion) Tier 1 industrial was 1.320 billion pounds; grocery stores was 8.634 billion pounds – numerous reasons for why can’t compare and Tier 2 data better Extra notes: Equates to __ pounds for every American citizen (US Census 2010) IF 80 (79.4) billion pounds disposed according to Tier 1, then 4.1 billion for mftng/ret/wholesale accounts for around 5% of all disposed for the food sector – that assumes the 80 billion is accurate
GDF
MICHAEL Key messages: - Both sectors use different methods of diverting waste from landfill - Manufacturing emphasizes animal feed and retail emphasizes donation and composting - These also reflect the different operating conditions of the industries Note: this slide highlights the destination of waste as a percentage of total food waste diverted; disposal is not shown on this chart. If you prefer to use a version of this slide with diversion included, please see the Appendix.
GDF Industry Assessment is completed and will be published shortly – Phase 1 Complete Teams working on best practices across the alliance – Phase 2 In Progress Alliance meets 4 times per year Guest Speakers – best practices Here is what Unified Grocers has decided we can do in 2013 a result of our internal assessment
They drastically changed the way food was presented across all its perishable departments by re-merchandising keeping shrink in mind and reducing displays. It took more work to refill the displays, but less work to go through and remove any bad product. The company also reduced the variety of pack sizes available for particular products. Within a few months, customer satisfaction had improved, sales numbers were up, and store waste was dramatically reduced. They also started to push back deeper into the supply chain to eliminate waste. They looked at decreasing waste across 550 stores to increase efficiency and increase customer satisfaction. It wasn’t about putting some innovative theory into action, it was about having fresher products and reducing waste.
Promotions Tesco is doing BOGO-L Buy One Get One Later Take the opportunity of promotion without waste Added opportunity to shop in the store
MICHAEL The Ralphs and Food 4 Less distribution center in Compton, Calif. has an on-site Resource Recovery System to convert unsold organic resources into renewable energy to fuel the manufacturing and distribution facility. This will reduce GHG emissions, optimize transportation networks by eliminating diesel truck trips, provide onsite wastewater treatment and renewable energy. RENEWABLE ENERGY offsets all of the natural gas consumed on-site and produces clean electricity for on-site demand use. RECYCLES 55,000 tons of organics and cardboard per year. REDUCES our carbon emissions by 90,000 tons per year. REPLENISHES critical nutrients in farmland with fertilizer.
JEANNE
JEANNE
FMI member Wegmans Food Markets turned its attention to the reduction of food waste and began a pilot program partnering with a local firm that can convert any organic waste into bio-fuel, animal feed or compost (in that order). Collecting from 6 of their stores in their home-based Rochester, NY market, Wegmans is capturing around 10 tons of food per week and converting it to use in other areas. That is 10 tons of food being creatively utilized and repositioned and most importantly NOT going to land-fills where it creates other environmental issues. Future plans call for increasing the number of stores involved and then expanding the program to other areas that Wegmans serves.
HST That said, what are the barriers to moving up the hierarchy. Key messages: - More than 75% of respondents think there are barriers to increased diversion - For Donations , liability concerns and transportation constraints are the key barriers to more donation (note that MANUFACTURERS cite transport; RETILERS cite liability, i.e. the top issue differs for the two sectors) - Insufficient recycling options and transportation constraints are the key barriers to more food diversion for other uses, such as composting, animal feed, etc. Note: “Other barriers” include financial and educational barriers. Please refer to the document entitled “4. Food Donation and Waste Survey - Digest of Companies' Notes and Comments” for a more detailed summary of barriers
Product dating What does “Sell By” mean Can I use it past the Date Can I donate it Fresher Product Kroger milk plant Took a look at its process from Farm to Store Better sanitation and cold chain management created two extra days on milk expiration Two extra days to drink helping waste
