We all know the stats surrounding food waste. Of all the food grown, processed and transported in the United States, we're throwing away 40% of it. Over 33,000,000 tons of food end up in the landfill each year in our country and only 3% of food waste is recovered or recycled. It uses 10% of the total U.S. energy budget, 50% of our land and 80% of all consumed freshwater. And we throw all that away while 1 in 8 people are food insecure.
But for two-and-a-half days in September 2017, attendees came from 18 states, from the West Coast to the East Coast, and even from Ontario, Canada, all to focus on reducing, recycling, and recovering food waste. The IWRC was just as excited as the attendees to learn about all the amazing things happening to alleviate this problem and we hope that the summit provided everyone the chance to learn, network and connect with each other.
Who attended the 2017 summit?
- Biodigestors
- Composting facilities and landfills
- Haulers
- Food rescue organizations
- Equipment manufacturers
- Regulatory entities
- Federal, state and local government employees
- Retail food stores
- Food establishments
- K-12 schools
- Colleges and universities
- Consultants
Thank you to our 2017 sponsors and exhibitors!
- Clarke Energy
- Discida
- Eat Greater Des Moines
- Food Rescue Partnership
- GreenRU / Chamness Biodegradables
- IASourceLink
- Iowa Department of Natural Resources
- Iowa Recycling Association
- Iowa Society of Solid Waste Operations
- Kinosol
- Plexus Recycling Technologies
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- UNI Business
- UNI Business & Community Services
- UNI Center for Business Growth & Innovation
- Vogelsang USA