Why is it bad for food waste to decompose in a landfill?
Rotting food in the landfill releases methane, a green house gas which contributes to global warming. Methane traps 23 times as much heat in the atmosphere as the same amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and the release of methane from landfills accounts for 34 percent of all methane emissions in the U.S., according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, just over a quarter of the food in the U.S.—about 25.9 million tons—gets thrown away and taken to the landfill every year and the U.S. spends more than $1 billion every year just to dispose of all its food waste.
The best solution to solve this problem is for individuals and businesses to compost their food waste. Another solution to dealing with food waste is to use the decomposing organic material to create Biogas, a by-product of anaerobic digestion (AD). AD is a process where organic matter—such as food waste—breaks down in an environment with little or no oxygen, generating a natural gas made up of 60 percent methane and 40 percent CO2. Biogas can be used to provide heat, light and fuel. According to a study by the National Society for Clean Air, biogas-fueled cars could reduce CO2 emissions by 75 to 200 percent compared to cars powered by fossil fuels.
For more information, visit www.schatzlab.org/biogas.html.