Every year in the U.S., nearly 40% of food goes to waste. This food waste piles up in landfills and generates methane pollution – a major contributor to climate change. At the same time, millions of Americans face food insecurity. And then, there is the water, energy, and labor it took to produce this food in the first place – all of that wasted. Clearly, our food system is broken.

The good news? We have the tools to fix it. We can invest in food recovery programs that rescue edible food for donation and compost inedible food scraps into healthy soil. These policies can slash climate pollution, fight hunger, and build a more resilient local food system.

Food Waste Prevention and Recycling policies are a bold approach to pushing resilient food systems forward. These policies ban “food waste generators” from throwing out both edible food and food scraps destined for landfills and incinerators. “Food waste generators” is defined by your state and can range from large food waste generators (think businesses and institutions) to individual households – whatever works in your state. These generators must find alternative ways to manage food they no longer want. This can include sending nutritious and edible food to hunger relief organizations and sending food scraps to compost or anaerobic digestion facilities.

Massachusetts was one of the first states to implement a statewide food waste ban. The program has been particularly successful in diverting food waste from the state’s landfills because of its commitment to enforce the rules of the program. But we need more states to join Massachusetts in setting strong food waste policies.

Tell your governor: Invest in food donation and composting programs that work. We must stop treating food as trash and start managing it as the valuable resource it is. With smart policies and strong investment, we can reduce waste, feed people, and protect the planet. In fact, they can use Just Zero’s Food Waste Legislative Toolkit as a starting point.