By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor
In 2017, NJ Gov. Phil Murphy signed the Food Waste Reduction Act into law, establishing a goal to reduce the amount of food waste generated in the state by 50% by the year 2030 (the 50×30 Goal)d.
The law directs the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to develop a plan to guide the state toward achieving this goal.
Now, the Food Waste Reduction Plan has been published on the DEP’s website at https://www.nj.gov/dep/dshw/food-waste/food_waste_reduction_plan.html.
The 52-page document quantifies the amount of food waste generated in 2017 and sets forth actions the state intends to take to achieve the 50×30 Goal. The plan also includes a brief toolkit for food waste-generating sectors to take additional actions that support this goal.
New Jersey mirrors the federal government’s food-reduction goal
In 2017, NJ Gov. Phil Murphy signed the Food Waste Reduction Act into law, establishing a goal to reduce the amount of food waste generated in the state by 50% by the year 2030 (the 50×30 Goal). The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced this goal on September 16, 2015, making it the first-ever domestic goal to reduce food loss and waste.
The EPA estimates that 30 to 40 percent of the food supply in the U.S. is never eaten, wasting the resources used to produce it and creating many environmental impacts.
In addition to New Jersey, several states have implemented specific legislation to tackle the problem of food waste. These include tax incentives, liability protection for donations, and food waste bans. Some states have passed laws that restrict the amount of food waste going to landfills, such as California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont
Facts about food waste
- 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted each year, worth about $1 trillion.
- Food waste is the third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, after the US and China.
- Food waste accounts for 24% of all municipal solid waste in the US and produces methane when it rots.
- Food waste could feed two billion people, more than twice the number of the world’s undernourished people
- Food waste occurs at all stages of the food system, from farms to households to businesses
Top 15 states generating the most food waste by tonnage annually
| Rank | State | Annual Food Waste (Tons) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 6,000,000 |
| 2 | Texas | 4,600,000 |
| 3 | Florida | 2,800,000 |
| 4 | New York | 2,700,000 |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | 2,500,000 |
| 6 | Illinois | 2,400,000 |
| 7 | Ohio | 2,300,000 |
| 8 | Michigan | 2,200,000 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 2,100,000 |
| 10 | Georgia | 2,000,000 |
| 11 | Virginia | 1,900,000 |
| 12 | New Jersey | 1,800,000 |
| 13 | Tennessee | 1,700,000 |
| 14 | Indiana | 1,600,000 |
| 15 | Arizona | 1,500,000 |
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