News
What happens to food in a landfill
Food sent to landfill breaks down into methane.
Food does not simply disappear when it is thrown out. Buried under other waste, it breaks down without oxygen and releases methane, a short-lived and powerful greenhouse gas.
The scale is national. The Government of Canada identifies landfills as a large source of the country’s methane emissions, and has set out Landfill Methane Regulations to reduce them. Organic waste makes up a large share of what goes into an Ontario household’s garbage, according to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. The Government of Ontario reports that the province’s waste sector is a significant source of greenhouse gases.
The UN Environment Programme reports that food loss and waste is a significant source of global greenhouse gas emissions. Produce that a farm hands to a food bank never reaches a landfill, and never adds to any of it.
Methane is the reason.
Our news
Research now, and news from chapters once chapters are approved and reporting. Everything published here names its source and links to the original, so a claim can be checked rather than taken on trust.
Read news
The latest
The newest pieces the organization has published, starting with the research behind the figures used across this site.
Read latest
Updates
News from chapters will appear here once chapters are approved and reporting. Until then, this section carries the research behind our work.
Read updates
