Of all the things we throw in landfills or incinerators, the single largest component is food — as much as two of every five pounds of waste (40%!). The average household in St. Paul throws away almost $100 in food every month, according to the MPCA.

Food waste is a potential gold mine for reducing what goes into landfills and in saving us money. What are we doing to do just that? What policies should governments consider to help address the problem? And how well do current efforts, including composting, work?

On June 5, 2019, the Citizens League kicked off its new event series, Policy On Tap, to discuss these issues, what the problems are, and what can be done. Scroll down to listen to the discussion.

Event host Tom Weber was joined by a panel to discuss food waste in our region:

• Nancy Lo, Waste Reductions and Recycling Specialist, Hennepin County
• JoAnne Berkenkamp, Senior Advocate, Healthy People & Thriving Communities Program, Natural Resources Defense Council

Listen to the conversation below:

Listen to more Policy On Tap!

From food waste to science, recycling to secondhand goods, host Tom Weber was joined by experts, engineers, and journalists to discuss the things we throw away. In case you missed the conversations, you’re in luck: all our events were recorded in full.