An ELI Public Webinar
Up to 40 percent of food in the United States is wasted. Local governments are well-positioned to address our nation’s food waste problem, in large part because they are responsible for managing municipal solid waste and addressing food insecurity in their communities. Food waste reduction is also a key pathway for local governments to achieve their climate mitigation and adaptation goals. Recognizing the significant local benefits of reducing food waste, some municipalities have set food waste reduction targets—often in line with, and in some cases more ambitious than, the federal goal of 50 percent food waste reduction by 2030.
However, designing, adopting, and implementing policies to meet food waste reduction targets can be a daunting and resource-intensive task. To ease the transaction costs of taking action on food waste, ELI and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) have developed a series of model policies based on extensive research into best practices that provide municipalities with clean, “off-the-shelf” legal language, as well as background information and alternative approaches.
Local governments can use these model policies to encourage or require the use of compost products; to require large businesses and organizations to report their surplus food generation; to lead by example by reducing food waste throughout municipal operations; to establish a Pay-As-You-Throw program for residential municipal solid waste; and to advance community composting projects. As a part of Food Waste Prevention Week, join ELI and leading experts in the field to learn how these tools can help local governments adopt and implement policies to reduce food waste and greenhouse gas emissions.
Panelists:
Linda Breggin, Senior Attorney; Director of the Center for State, Tribal, and Local Environmental Programs, Environmental Law Institute
Leann Edwards, Program Manager, Project Green Fork, Clean Memphis
Darby Hoover, Senior Resource Specialist, Environmental Health & Nature, NRDC
Jessie Sugarman, Policy Analyst, Environmental Law Institute
Materials:
Materials will be posted as they are received.
ELI members will have subsequent access to any materials/a recording of this session (usually posted within three business days). If you are not an ELI member but would like to have access to archived sessions like this one, see the many benefits of membership and how to join.