I’m a die-hard composter myself – just ask my wife what happens when she throws scraps in the garbage – and, as long-time readers know, I’m a fan of the concept at both small and large scales. While I realize some will argue for some form of biogas production as a preferable alternative, I know that such options just aren’t available everywhere – and, in many of those cases, the leftover material still sits in a landfill. So, you’d expect that when I come across an article like this one from today’s New York Times, I’d probably be cheering… right?
No… not this time.
See, as much as I love composting, and think its a very viable alternative for the food waste produced when preparing food for eating, I don’t necessarily like it as a solution for the waste of otherwise edible food. Yes, I definitely think composting is preferable to sending it to a landfill… but that doesn’t make it the solution to the actual problem at hand. Truthfully, I grimaced pretty hard at the thought of those kids pitching perfectly good bananas in this article’s first two paragraphs. We’re still wasting food… composting it is a second-best alternative.
So, if Composting at Schools Isn’t the Answer, What Is?
“So, c’mon, smart guy: how do you make kids eat everything they’re served?” That’s a perfectly viable response here, and I don’t have a perfectly viable answer – kids are kids, and often don’t like things. I also know that logistics are an issue in school cafeterias: there are lots of kids to feed, so uniform meals not only insure that children are receiving nutritionally-balanced meals (well, at least, we hope), but that all kids are getting those meals in a timely fashion. Β I’d argue for more of a buffet-style set-up, where kids can choose what they’d like, but I’m guessing that would not only wreck the lunchroom logistics, but also create… wait for it… lots of food waste: many kids will want the same things.
I’d love to hear about success stories on this front: how has your child’s school addressed the issue of food waste (which isn’t just an environmental issue – that’s also money going to the landfill!). Maybe composting is the only really viable solution… but, boy, I just hate seeing all of that food go uneaten…
Image credit: LauraGilchrist4 via photopin cc
Sustainablog | Jeff McIntire-Strasburg has been blogging a greener world via sustainablog since 2003!
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Sustainablog | Jeff McIntire-Strasburg has been blogging a greener world via sustainablog since 2003!
[…] Food scraps are inevitable, but they add up to a large amount of waste: uneaten food accounts for 20 to 30 percent of what put into the garbage, according to the EPA. You hate to just throw the scraps out, but it’s not like you can have a compost pile in your small apartment, right? […]
Sustainablog | Jeff McIntire-Strasburg has been blogging a greener world via sustainablog since 2003!
[…] I’d add another: as with other methods of dealing with food waste, I’m concerned about sending edible food to the digester, rather than to people who can eat it. But with food waste that’s definitely past the point […]
Sustainablog | Jeff McIntire-Strasburg has been blogging a greener world via sustainablog since 2003!
[…] always in favor of keep food waste out of the trash… but, as I’ve noted in other contexts, I don’t know that making compost is always the best solution. I would guess that much of the […]