You know how at the end of the day, most restaurants will take all of their leftover food and throw them in the garbage? It is extremely wasteful, but some places are trying to change the system.
This week, the people of Austin, Texas officially implemented what could be the most effective step in their “zero waste” by 2040 goal.
The new ordinance took effect on October 1 and prevents all restaurants and food businesses from throwing away organic material or leftover food.
Many large businesses have already been taking strides towards this goal and disposing of their excess food — and the program has been in the works since 2016 — but as of October 1, small businesses and anyone else not already doing so will have to comply.
Austin Resource Recovery is one company that is helping implement this new order in big ways. The Austin-based service is making it their mission to help the city achieve its zero waste goal within the Universal Recycling Ordinance (URO).
The entire program overall is meant to foster economic development, reduce harmful environmental impacts, and increase the life of local landfills.
The organization also the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) food recovery hierarchy.
With this new ordinance now taking place, it is vital for businesses to step up. Now, they are fully responsible for “providing access to an alternative method of disposal of organic waste, bilingual signs for their employees, education on organic material, and reporting their waste and their annual organic diversion plan to the government,” according to Rare.
From the outside, it seems like a pretty massive change for businesses to make — and it is — but it is also meant to help them. It will help them manage their money and budgets and become more aware of how much food waste is entering their restaurants. Because it’s a waste of money for them, too.
According to Feeding America, 218 billion dollars worth of food is thrown away each year with estimates that 72 billion pounds of food waste are discarded each year. Want to know the worst part? That does not even include food from personal homes.
To prevent waste, large companies are now being encouraged to use bulk condiments and reusable containers for food deliveries. It is also encouraged that food places sell “day-old baked goods” and use certain items in specials.
All other food waste can be donated to feed people at food banks, rather than tossing it and having it be completely wasted. Food scraps can also be given to farmers, who can then use it to feed livestock and any other materials composted.
Although the world can be a bit scary at times, the future is looking brighter for Austin, Texas. Good for them for making progressive moves!
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