Nonprofits create plan to reduce Michigan food waste by 50 percent

A new plan has been proposed to help Michigan reduce food waste by 50 percent by 2030.

The Michigan Food Waste Policy Road Map is a collaboration between the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE); the Michigan Sustainable Business Forum; and the Detroit-based nonprofit Make Food Not Waste. Stakeholders and experts from farming, food manufacturing, restaurants and grocery stores were also included in drafting the map.

According to EGLE, food is the most disposed of material in Michigan, with up to 1.5 million tons of food waste reaching Michigan landfills yearly. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates 30 percent to 40 percent of all food is landfilled.

Daniel Schoonmaker, director of the sustainable business forum, tells Michigan Radio that the greenhouse gas of concern with food waste is methane.

RELATED: Ann Arbor, Michigan, takes steps to reduce plastic in compost

“Approximately 61 percent of the methane generated by landfilled food waste cannot be captured by landfill gas collection systems. In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon,” he says.

Schoonmaker says the plan includes the input of many people.

“We brought together over a hundred people over the course of the year from a lot of different parts of the economy,” he tells Michigan Radio. “People who are really enthusiastic about this issue and all the benefits that we could potentially see as a state if we were to move forward these efforts to reduce food loss and food waste over the next decade.”

Recommendations in the draft plan include the “creation of a shared language around food waste” to be used between farms, food manufacturers, restaurants, grocery stores and other businesses. Schoonmaker adds that he hopes that this shared language will change the way businesses and institutions think about food waste.