Retail Food Waste White Paper

Food waste has become a substantial issue in developed countries like the United States in recent years. It impacts the wellbeing of both consumers and businesses on multiple levels including financial, environmental and social.

At Quest, we are dedicated to reducing waste by diverting food, among a variety of other waste streams, from our nation’s landfills. In an effort to better understand the issue at hand and offer our expert opinion on preventing food waste, we compiled a white paper on the subject.

The paper specifically addresses food waste at the retail level of the supply chain and provides information on challenges faced and strategies retailers may employ in efforts to reduce and differ food from landfills.

The paper reviews:

By the numbers (pounds, cost and calories)
Environmental impact
Social impact
Retail-level supply chain losses and causes
Prevention efforts
Recovery practices
Regulations
Food recycling case study
Quest’s recommendations

Many of the nation’s largest brands and corporations trust Quest to manage their recycling and sustainability programs. In 2015, Quest managed landfill diversion of more than 1.3 million tons of material. Quest’s food waste recycling program successfully diverted 600,000 tons of food from landfills through animal feed and composting efforts alone. The company diverted 450,000 tons of food waste for recycling into animal feed, leading to a CO₂ emission savings equivalent of removing just over 1 million cars from the nation’s roads for a year (396,360 metric tons of Co₂). Compost food recycling managed by the company totaled 150,000 tons, with the CO₂ savings equivalent to emissions from more than 340,000 cars in a year (132,120 metric tons).

For an in-depth look at food waste and the impact it has on retailers and the public, read the full white paper is available to download below.