How to cut down on food waste, which costs money, emits pollution

By CALEIGH WELLS, Associated Press

Wasted food is a financial and environmental bummer.

It costs U.S. consumers $728 every year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, and emits the annual equivalent planet-warming greenhouse gases of 42 coal-fired power plants.

Carleigh Bodrug, a cookbook author who emphasizes cooking with plants and low-waste recipes, said she was surprised to learn that homes, rather than restaurants and grocery stores, account for the largest share of food that goes in the garbage — about 35% in 2023, according to ReFed , a nonprofit that seeks to reduce food waste.

“And it’s just because we’re so busy, we’re not utilizing the food that we actually buy,” she said.

The environmental impact is compounded because the food goes in the trash only after