News Releases from Region 09
MONDAY: U.S. EPA Co-Hosts Food Recovery Summit in Sacramento
Spotlight on tracking food recovery efforts
SAN FRANCISCO – On Monday, August 8, Kathleen Salyer, with U.S. EPA’s Office of Resource Conservation & Recovery, will be joined by state and national officials to highlight the importance of keeping food out of the waste stream. U.S. EPA will also be announcing a new tool for tracking waste and food recovery.
U.S. EPA’s first Pacific Southwest Food Recovery Summit supports the national Food Loss and Recovery Goal of cutting food loss and waste in half by 2030, with a focus on the measurement of food recovery programs.
At the Summit, leaders in this field will highlight various food recovery issues, including measurement, food rescue to feed those in need, source reduction, mandatory commercial programs, and anaerobic digestion.
U.S. EPA is co-sponsoring the Summit with the California Resource Recovery Association, and the event is being held as part of the broader California Resource Recovery Association Conference, now in its 40th year.
WHEN: Monday, August 8, 2016, 10:15-10:45 AM
WHO:
Kathleen Salyer, Deputy Director, Office of Resource Conservation & Recovery, U.S. EPA, Washington, D.C.
Zoe Heller, Manager, Zero Waste Office, U.S. EPA, Region 9
Howard Levenson, Deputy Director, Materials Management and Local Assistance, CalRecycle
Rachel Lewison, Southern Nevada Recycling Coordinator, Nevada Division of Environmental Protection
Dana Gunders, Staff Scientist, Food and Agriculture Program, Natural Resources Defense Council
WHERE: Doubletree Hotel Sacramento, Terrace Garden Room, 2001 Point W Way, Sacramento, CA 95815
WHAT: Brief remarks followed by press availability; access to Food Recovery Summit on August 8.
RSVP: Credentialed press who would like to attend this event, please contact Michele Huitric, Huitric.michele@epa.gov, 415-972-3165
WHY: Food is too good to waste! Unfortunately, we throw away more food than anything else at our homes and workplaces. The total value of food loss at the retail and consumer levels is estimated to be over $161 billion per year. More than 37 million tons of food waste is generated annually in the United States. Of that total, 95 percent went to landfills and incinerators and only about 5 percent was composted. Reducing food waste also helps address climate change, because 20 percent of total U.S. methane emissions come from landfills. This is the third Food Recovery Summit across the nation that U.S. EPA has co-sponsored.
For more information on the Summit: www.crra.com/crra-2016-program
For more information on Food Recovery: www.epa.gov/foodrecovery
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