When it comes to food, many in Hawaii are conspicuous consumers: we enjoy enormous pot lucks, have easy access to a vast array of culturally exciting cuisines, and the big-box stores enable excessive buys.
But the downside? Hawaii is incredibly wasteful with its food — and that needs reining in, to maintain personal health, of course, but increasingly, also for the health of the planet.
Hawaii wastes an average of 522.8 million pounds of food per year, accounting for 26% of the state’s total food supply. A 2021 legislative bill noted that food waste in Hawaii is about 33% higher than in other states.
All that is alarming, especially in the context of two groundbreaking October reports from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):
>> “Quantifying Methane Emissions from Landfilled Food Waste” found that 58% of methane emissions from landfills come from food waste, a major issue since methane is responsible for a quarter of global warming and has significantly more warming potential than carbon dioxide. And EPA’s analysis estimates yearly methane emissions from landfilled food waste are rising, adding to the imperative for reduction.
>> “From Field to Bin: The Environmental Impacts of U.S. Food Waste Management Pathways (Part 2)” says preventing wasted food altogether — by not producing or buying it in the first place — is the best strategy, followed by donating and upcycling leftover food, as well as composting or anaerobic digestion, a process turning food waste into biogas inside a reactor.
All this new information must accelerate initiatives on the local front. In response to the reports’ quantifiable and clear data, more than 50 officials nationwide called on the EPA to help municipal governments cut food waste in their communities. The EPA has recently channeled some Inflation Reduction Act funds to support recycling, including some money for organic waste — and Hawaii’s officials should avidly pursue potential streams.
It is good that in recent years, Honolulu’s Ordinance 96-20 has already been requiring hotels, restaurants, food courts, grocery stores, hospitals, food manufacturers and food processors to recycle food waste.
But then comes realization that much of the food in Oahu’s landfills comes from residential sources. Nationwide, researchers say that households are responsible for at least 40% of food waste in the U.S.
What’s now needed is more education, support and even incentives to help households curb their food-wasteful ways. And a sad paradox must be noted: That while so much waste occurs, nearly half of Hawaii households are food insecure.
In its “Going Green Is Good For Business” guide to food-related companies, the city underscores that food recycling is not only Oahu law, it’s also the smart thing to do. To reduce food waste, the guide advises, conduct a food audit by frequently looking at inventory and by storing and labeling properly. And consider tactics such as serving smaller portions.
Such common-sense tips are certainly applicable to households, too, and should be taken to heart by Hawaii’s families.
Other programs here working to curb food waste serve as laudable community models that deserve robust support, including:
>> The O‘ahu Compost Project (OCP) pilot in Chinatown, which partners with food-service businesses to decrease food waste and increase access to local compost for agricultural producers. Quality excess food from businesses is redistributed to feed people, while food scraps are composted into soil products.
>> Aloha Harvest, a nonprofit that collects and redistributes food to nourish Oahu communities — a noble effort since 48% of Hawaii’s families are food insecure (see www.alohaharvest.org).
Unfortunately, Windward Zero Waste School Hui, a nationally award-winning food-waste diversion program, just shut down in August. Over 10 years, it collected food discarded in school cafeterias to be processed via composting and worm composting, for reuse on campus grounds.
Sustaining sustainability is hard work. But the science is showing that food excess does significantly affect and harm our environment, locally and nationwide. Efforts must persist to change our wasteful First World habits.
