CLE: Getting to Zero—Current and Future Efforts to Reduce Food-Related Waste in the Environment
As reported on the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s website, 19 million tons of waste are put into Illinois landfills each year. Of that, food waste accounts for as much as 20 percent, which is more than any other single waste stream found in landfills today. When food waste decomposes, it produces methane, a greenhouse gas that is 25 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide.