Bioenergy Devco (BDC), the North American division of BTS Bioenergy, LLC and global leader in the design, engineering, construction, financing, and operation of anaerobic digestion facilities, commends The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announcement of a new Draft National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste. Unveiled by EPA Administrator Michael Regan at COP28, the strategy takes a collaborative, whole-of-government approach to expanding organics recycling infrastructure and meeting their 50% food waste reduction goal by 2030 with the FDA.
“The EPA’s emphasis on anaerobic digestion as a preferred method for sustainable food waste management reinforces the importance of our work,” said Shawn Kreloff, CEO of Bioenergy Devco. “This serves as a catalyst for expanding adoption of anaerobic digestion to prevent food waste from being disposed of in landfills and harness its potential for renewable energy and nutrients.”
Food waste is a major challenge in the United States, with over one-third of the food produced never reaching consumers, squandering valuable resources and contributing to environmental harm. Much of this waste is sent to landfills, where it decomposes and produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
The Food Waste Prevention draft aims to support policies that incentivize food loss and waste prevention through organics recycling. It specifically endorses channeling grant funding to improve anaerobic digestion and community composting infrastructure as key tools for sustainability. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a biological process that breaks down organic materials in an oxygen-free environment. This process not only generates biogas, a valuable source of renewable energy, but also produces digestate or biosolids, nutrient-rich products that can be employed as fertilizers or soil amendments.
The EPA has emphasized the importance of avoiding landfills due to their substantial negative environmental impact. The agency’s October study found that 58% of methane emissions from landfills come from yard and food organics waste. Anaerobic digestion addresses the problems of energy burdens required from incineration as a method of waste disposal while harnessing food waste’s potential for renewable energy and nutrients. This makes it vital for reducing greenhouse gasses and furthering environmental sustainability.