Exactly half a year after New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, began the campaign to divert half of the food waste away from landfills, the first results were officially announced this week. The incredible 2,500 tons of food were donated or composted instead of being dumped. This has been a major achievement for the city, and all businesses involved in the Food Waste Challenge.
Just a small reminder about the initiative. Back in May this year, around 100 New York restaurants and businesses were encouraged by Bloomberg instead of throwing away the food waste, to compost or donate it in exchange for great recognition from the public and the city officials. Although it might sound as quite a small incentive, the campaign was greeted by the restaurant owners and they happily took on the challenge.
Six months down the line, everyone is still equally as pleased with the way the initiative goes, and they strongly supports the goal of the Mayor’s office to make composting a norm rather than an option. The city officials are equally as enthusiastic, and have even contracted a small company to develop MintScraps, a software, which will allow businesses to track the waste and make the most effective money-saving strategies.
The target is to have 75% of the food waste diverted from landfills by 2030. Let’s see how far the campaign will go, but if everyone continues to be as dedicated as they are now, the future for New Yorkers seems quite bright.
Image (c) Wikimedia
