Composting and Food Waste

Last updated October 28, 2024

The landfills in Columbus are the third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the city. Food waste comprises 14 percent or 21,109 tons of the waste that is added to the city's active landfill each year. As food quickly decays it produces methane, a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. In the US, food disposal to landfills creates about the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as 50 million gas-powered cars.1 

Research studies indicate that for every pound of food that ends up in a landfill approximately 2 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions are produced.2 For Americans, this is about 132 kg CO2e emissions due to food waste per person annually.3 In Columbus, given the annual amount of food waste, this equals about 38,000 tons of CO2e emissions each year.

As a lot of land, energy, water, and money is required to grow our food, it is important to reduce our food waste. If food waste can’t be avoided, then donating or composting will keep this precious resource from reaching our local landfill. Here Science for Georgia discusses reducing food waste and composting in Georgia highlighting what other cities like Athens have done to create jobs and revenue while lowering their carbon emissions due to food waste.

As part of the Columbus Consolidated Government Solid Waste Management Plan 2019-2028, evaluation of collecting food waste to combine with yard waste disposal is highlighted as a possible future way to bring composting to the city. 

Sources

1 Krause, M., Kenny, S., Stephenson, J., & Singleton, A. (2023). Quantifying methane emissions from landfill food waste. Food Waste Management: US Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development.

2 Amicarelli, V., Lagioia, G., & Bux, C. (2021). Global warming potential of food waste through the life cycle assessment: An analytical review. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 91, 106677.

3 Birney, C. I., Franklin, K. F., Davidson, F. T., & Webber, M. E. (2017). An assessment of individual foodprints attributed to diets and food waste in the United States. Environmental Research Letters, 12(10), 105008.