New York To Receive $4 Million To Expand Food Waste Recycling

The State of New York will be receiving millions in grants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce food waste.

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced via press release that New York will be receiving $4 million in grants to expand the food waste recycling. DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos announced on Tuesday, June 12, that the money will be used to expand wholesome food and food scrap donations, or divert it to organics recycling facilities.

The press release states that 40% of food in the United States is wasted, while 2.5 million New Yorkers are food insecure. Food insecurity is when a person lacks reliable access to a proper amount of affordable nutritious food.

Seggos also said this grant money will help accomplish Governor Andrew Cuomo's goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in New York. He said that it will divert waste from landfills and feed the hungry at the same time.

The release points out that the biggest food-waste contributors are supermarkets, restaurants, colleges, and hospitals. They more than 250,000 tons of wasted food and food scraps each year, some of which is edible food. The release states that if just five percent of this material were donated, food banks would see an increase of 20 percent in the amount of food available for consumption by those in need. And, if these food scraps were diverted from landfills, more than 120,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalence reduction could be achieved each year.