At Agri-Cycle, we’ve made a name for ourselves by making it easy for businesses and communities to get food waste out of their trash (and out of landfills) and into sustainable practices such as anaerobic digestion that produces renewable energy and healthy soils. However, we prioritize food’s highest and best use first! We work with our clients to instill reduction techniques, provide them with resources to feed their communities and provide feedback based on the data we collect to give proactive feedback on their success.
Understanding the Real Scale of Food Loss Waste
In a recent blog, How Reducing Food Loss and Waste is the Best Form of Sustainability, we talked about an EPA study that went over the state of food waste in the US. Primarily, that study looked at all the food that ends up in landfills and the staggering cost of all that wasted food, from the greenhouse gases produced to the land use. It’s a staggering cost for everyone, from the farmer to the manufacturers, restaurants, and supermarkets, and then to the individual shoppers. It is good for everyone to stop this upstream by making sure that food isn’t wasted and diverted to people who need it.
Food Waste Reduction & Reuse
We work with businesses in every industry, from grocers to producers, from nonprofits to cities, and have made solutions not just for food waste collection but also reducing the food they have to throw away.
- Imperfect Produce: From farmers to manufacturers and markets, just because fruit or vegetables aren’t pretty doesn’t mean they should go to waste. Solutions can include discounts, repurposing into other products, and donations (see below).
- Making New Products: Agri-Cycle works with companies like Against The Grain to turn food waste into animal feed. A great match for breweries, distilleries, cideries, and food production clients
- Best Practices: Sometimes, changes need to occur to the business model or procedures instead of the food. We help your procurement teams analyze data to instill better purchasing practices.
These are just a few examples. We can work with you to find food waste reduction solutions to fit your specific needs and industry.
Feeding Hungry People with Donations
If you can’t make use of this wasted food yourself, can you get it to people in need of food? While lower on the Food Recovery Hierarchy than source reduction and reuse, getting your food donated to food banks, rescue operations, soup kitchens, shelters, and other organizations that help deal with food scarcity can be a great way of increasing your sustainability while also making a difference in your community. We can work with you to find the right nonprofits in your area.
It might seem strange for a business focused on food waste disposal to help you reduce your food waste, but we firmly believe in food waste higher use. But if your food waste can’t be prevented, we will mitigate it sustainably through the use of anaerobic digestion to create renewable energy, organic fertilizers, and other products, as well as composting. With our large scale of services and service area from Maine to Maryland, Agri-Cycle can help. For everything from food waste disposal to consultation on reducing your impact, contact us today to get started by getting a quote or calling us at 1-800-850-9560.