This document summarizes a case study on a food recycling pilot program called EcoFeed on the island of Guam. The program collected food waste from 4 venues over 7 months and converted it into compost and animal feed. In total, the program diverted 15.4 tons of food waste from the local landfill, averaging 2 tons per month. The study found that even small-scale food recycling programs can significantly reduce food waste and help lower greenhouse gas emissions from landfills. Expanding such programs could have major positive environmental impacts.

1. Food:
Too
Good
to
Waste
A
Food
Recycling
Case
Study
on
the
Island
of
Guam
Renee
Schnabel
University
of
Guam
Center
for
Island
Sustainability,
Dr.
Mari
Marutani
University
of
San
Diego,
Department
of
Environmental
and
Ocean
Sciences
Introduc=on
Approximately
one-­‐third
of
the
food
produced
for
human,
consumpEon
is
disposed
which
is
about
1.3
billion
tons
per
year
(FAO
2011).
In
the
US,
over
95%
of
unused
food
ends
up
in
landfills
or
incinerators,
esEmated
at
35
million
tons
of
waste
per
year
(EPA
2015).
Once
in
landfills,
food
breaks
down
to
produce
methane,
a
strong
greenhouse
gas.
In
the
US,
about
18%
of
methane
emissions
comes
from
landfills
(EPA
2013).
Reducing
food
wastes
and
implemenEng
food
recycling
programs
has
been
receiving
increasing
global
interest
and
acEon.
This
study
assesses
the
importance
of
implemenEng
food
recycling
programs,
by
focusing
on
a
small-­‐scale,
pilot
food
waste
recycling
program
conducted
by
the
University
of
Guam’s
Center
for
Island
Sustainability
enEtled
EcoFeed.
The
pilot
program
produces
compost
and
animal
feed
from
collected
food
waste
to
reduce
the
amount
of
trash
in
the
island’s
landfill.
Results
Discussion
The
amount
of
total
food
waste
collected
in
the
first
7
months
of
the
EcoFeed
program
(Figure
5)
shows
the
big
impact
that
a
small
food
recycling
program
can
have
on
food
waste
diversion.
The
EcoFeed
project
is
able
to:
• reduce
the
amount
of
trash
being
placed
in
landfills
• reuse
food
waste
to
feed
farm
animals
and
produce
compost
• recycle
nutrient
resources
from
food
waste
in
the
form
of
animal
feed
or
plant
nutrients
and
soil
condiEoners
Less
food
waste
being
dumped
in
the
island’s
landfill
results
in
less
greenhouse
gases
being
emi[ed
into
the
atmosphere.
Such
a
small-­‐
scale
study
was
able
to
reduce,
reuse,
and
recycle
a
large
amount
of
food
waste
from
only
4
food
venues
on
a
small
island.
Imagine
the
posiEve
impact
a
larger
scale
study
can
have
on
the
environment.
Methods
Food
waste
was
collected
daily
from
four
different
food
venues.
The
food
waste
was
then
used
for
either
composEng
or
animal
feed.
Acknowledgments
References
• Food
and
Agriculture
OrganizaEon
of
the
United
NaEons.
(2011)
“Global
food
losses
and
food
waste.”
Rome.
• Environmental
ProtecEon
Agency.
“Reducing
food
waste
basics.”
EPA.
n.p.
Web.
5
Nov.
2015
• Environmental
ProtecEon
Agency.
(2015)
“Inventory
of
US
Greenhouse
Gas
Emissions
and
Sinks:
1990-­‐2013.”
Washington.
• Hall,
K.D.,
Guo,
J.,
Dore,
M.,
Chow,
C.C.
(2009)
“The
progressive
impact
of
food
waste
in
America
and
its
environmental
impact.”
PLoS
ONE.
4(11)
Figure
1.
The
process
of
the
compost
treatment.
Figure
2.
The
process
of
food
waste
to
animal
feed
treatment.
Figure
3.
The
machine
used
to
process
food
waste
into
animal
feed.
Figure
4.
The
product
afer
the
process
of
pulverizing,
sterilizing,
mixing,
and
fermenEng
food
waste.
The
data
was
collected
over
a
period
of
7
months
(January
2015
–
July
2015).
The
total
food
waste
collected
for
each
month
was
calculated
to
show
the
weight
of
food
being
wasted
from
only
four
food
venues.
Figure
5.
The
total
amount
of
food
waste
collected
per
month
in
tons
for
a
period
of
7
months.
Months
8
–
12
(in
light
green)
show
the
projected
growth.
The
projected
growth
was
calculated
using
the
Excel
growth
funcEon:
y=b*mx.
Over
the
course
of
a
7
month
period,
the
EcoFeed
pilot
program
was
able
to
divert
a
total
of
15.4
tons
(30,711
lbs.)
of
food
waste
from
the
island’s
landfill.
On
average,
the
program
was
able
to
divert
2
tons
(4,400
lbs.)
of
food
waste
per
month.
The
projected
growth
of
the
pilot
program
shows
that
the
program
will
be
able
to
divert
as
much
as
28
tons
(56,000
lbs.)
over
the
course
of
the
year.
Conclusions
• The
EcoFeed
project
on
Guam
shows
that
small-­‐scale
food
waste
recycling
projects
have
a
notable
impact
on
diverEng
food
waste
from
landfills.
• With
the
amount
of
food
being
wasted
annually
in
the
U.S.,
there
is
a
need
for
be[er,
more
efficient
food
waste
recycling
programs
to
reduce
harmful
greenhouse
gas
emissions.
• Food
recycling
has
many
benefits
including
environmental,
economic,
and
social
benefits.
• Food
waste
recycling
tends
to
be
overlooked
as
a
way
to
promote
the
three
R’s
of
reducing,
reusing,
and
recycling.
The
EcoFeed
pilot
program
serves
as
a
model
for
other
establishments,
such
as
small
businesses
and
universiEes,
to
implement
pracEces
to
reduce
food
waste
in
their
operaEons.
• Professor
Eric
M.
Cathcart,
Dr.
Steven
Searcy,
&
the
Department
of
Environmental
and
Ocean
Sciences
• Dr.
Mari
Marutani,
Elvie
Tyler,
University
of
Guam’s
Center
for
Island
Sustainability
team
&
the
School
of
Natural
and
Applied
Sciences
• The
UOG
Triton
Research
Farm
Benefits
of
Food
Recycling
• Establishments
will
be
able
to
lower
their
costs
of
waste
disposal,
reduce
the
size
of
their
waste
containers,
and
lessen
frequent
waste
pick-­‐ups.
• CollecEng
and
recycling
food
waste
diverts
organic
materials
from
landfills
which
reduces
methane
emissions,
lowering
global
warming
potenEal.
• Businesses
that
support
green
soluEons
like
food
recycling
can
make
sustainability
a
core
element
of
branding
their
company,
which
can
result
in
posiEve
publicity
and
customer
and
employee
loyalty.
• Reducing
the
amount
of
food
waste
being
dumped
in
landfills
can
extend
the
life
of
a
region’s
landfill.