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Dec 2021
20m 12s

The cost of food waste on our planet

Al Jazeera
About this episode

Americans are wasting about $408bn in food every year, but the biggest consequence of food waste is not financial. Pollution from methane gas generated at landfills accounts for about 8 to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Today, we explore food waste — how to avoid it, and what steps local and national governments in the United States are taking to solve the problem.

In this episode: 

  • Madeline Keating, City Strategist, Healthy People and Thriving Communities Program at NRDC (@NRDC)
  • Kristyn Oldendorf, Chief of the Office of Waste Diversion for the Department of Public Works, Baltimore (@BaltimoreDPW)
  • Marvin Hayes, Youth Program Manager, Baltimore Compost Collective (@bmorecompost)

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