A new study by the Department of Natural Resources found Wisconsin residents tossed more than 632,000 tons of food into the trash last year — nearly 220 pounds per person. Buried in landfills, that food waste produces as much heat-trapping gas as nearly 558,000 cars on the road. “We shouldn’t just be throwing it in a pile to create methane when we can be using it as a resource,” said Stacie Reece, sustainability coordinator for the city of Madison.

When combined with inedible food scraps, lawn clippings, diapers and pet waste, it adds up to more than 1.3 million tons, or nearly a third of everything that went into landfills last year. And organic matter isn’t the only thing taking up valuable space, according to the DNR, which determined there are statewide programs in place to recycle 35% of the material being dumped, and nearly two-thirds theoretically could be diverted.

That’s a problem for facilities like the Dane County landfill, which at the current rate will be full in another five to six years, said John Welch, director of the county’s solid waste and renewables department. With regulatory approval, the landfill could be expanded upward to extend its life by another three years. After that, Welch said the county will need a new site, which would involve significant expense on top of the roughly $1 million per acre it costs to build a modern landfill.

Based on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calculations, diverting all the recyclable material from landfills could also save the equivalent energy used by 219,000 typical households. “People don’t necessarily think of recycling as an energy saver,” said Casey Lamensky, a program coordinator in the DNR’s recycling and solid waste section. “You don’t have to do the mining or logging … It takes less energy to heat recycled materials to a reusable (state) versus virgin material.”

To read the full story, visit https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/environment/with-clock-ticking-on-dane-county-landfill-focus-turns-to-reducing-food-waste/article_f9a230f3-5d08-5471-b26f-11e6de370d65.html.
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