Producing food requires land, water, energy, labor, transportation, and money.
When food is wasted, those resources are wasted too. Food sent to landfills also produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, as it decomposes without oxygen.
🍎 FIRST: WASTE LESS
Before composting, prevent edible food from becoming waste.
Plan meals before shopping
Check what you already have
Store food correctly
Freeze food before it spoils
Use leftovers
Understand date labels
Donate safe, usable food when possible
EPA's preferred approach prioritizes preventing wasted food before disposal.
♻️ THEN: COMPOST
Composting allows organic material to decompose under managed conditions and creates material that can return nutrients and organic matter to soil.
Common backyard compost materials include:
GREENS
Fruit + vegetable scraps Coffee grounds Grass clippings Fresh plant material
BROWNS
Dry leaves Small twigs Uncoated cardboard Uncoated paper
A functioning compost pile needs an appropriate balance of carbon-rich browns, nitrogen-rich greens, moisture, and oxygen.
🚫 NOT EVERYTHING BELONGS IN BACKYARD COMPOST
For a basic home compost system, generally avoid:
Meat + fish
Bones
Dairy
Fats + oils
Pet waste
Diseased plants
Chemically contaminated material
Commercial composting facilities may accept materials that home systems cannot.
Always check your local program's rules.
🏢 NO BACKYARD?
Look for:
Community compost drop-offs Farmers market collection Community gardens Municipal programs Local composting services
Some communities collect food scraps separately from regular trash.
🌎 WHY LANDFILLS MATTER
When organic waste decomposes in a landfill under low-oxygen conditions, it generates methane.
Methane traps substantially more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide over shorter time periods.
Keeping food waste out of landfills can therefore reduce avoidable methane emissions.
SIMPLE ORDER
PREVENT → DONATE/REDISTRIBUTE → COMPOST → DISPOSE
Use food for its highest practical purpose before treating it as waste.