Food waste is costing you, and America, a lot of money.

As a nation, we waste 40% of the food produced.

As consumers, we throw away at least 30% of the food we buy at the grocery store.

Here’s what that means: if you spend $100 on groceries, you’ll end up throwing $30 worth away.

EcoScraps believes that’s wrong, and they’re right! That’s why we’ve teamed up with them to introduce you to the smart way they’re turning wasted food – including bananas – into potting soil and other garden products. They’re also offering a $50 WalMart Gift Card to one lucky Big Green Purse reader so you can purchase your own EcoScaps stuff. But more on that later!

Disclosure: This blog post includes links sponsored by EcoScraps and their preferred distributor, Wal-Mart.

How Many Bananas Do You Waste? What About Lettuce? Grapes?

You may be so used to throwing away food that you don’t even think about it anymore. But you should. Consider this*:

Food Waste Causes Climate Change

All this food waste takes a big toll on our pocket books. But it’s also contributing in a major way to climate change.

At the front end, think of all the fossil fuels (and water) used to produce, harvest, process and get that food to your shopping cart or dinner plate. Burning especially oil to operate farm machinery and transportation systems generates tons of carbon dioxide that are adding to global warming.

But on the back end, all the food that’s thrown away – enough to cover 4,444 football fields a year – ends up in landfills.

As landfilled food waste starts to decompose, it produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that’s 20 times more harmful than carbon dioxide (CO2).

EcoScraps to the Food Waste Rescue

Since 2010, EcoScraps has been working to be part of the solution by reusing food waste and keeping it out of landfills. “We want to make sustainability mainstream,” says the company.

And that’s exactly what they’re doing.

Recycling 15 million pounds of food waste is equivalent to keeping 500,000 cars off the road for an entire day.

Between 2011 and 2015, EcoScraps recycled 75 million pounds of food waste, and they project recycling another 75 million pounds in 2016 alone. 

What are they doing with it?

Turning it into potting soil, compost and other garden products, including:

All Purpose Plant Food

Azalea, Camellia and Rhododendron Plant Food

Compost Accelerator

Potting Mix

Raised Bed Garden Mix

Rose & Flower Plant Food

Tomato, Herb & Vegetable Plant Food

Moisture Retaining Garden Soil

All Purpose Liquid Fertilizer

Moisture Retaining Compost

I used EcoScraps’ Moisture Retaining Potting Soil to pot up the impatience and begonias I keep on my porch. Don’t they look beautiful?

What Can You Do to Reduce Food Waste?

√First and foremost, buy less food! Rather than buy as much as you think you need, realize you can buy 30% less – if you eat it all. Be smarter about what you buy and keep track of it so you eat it all.

√That goes for restaurants, too. When you dine out, order smaller portions, or share one large portion so you waste less. Bring home the leftovers so the restaurant won’t toss them in the trash.

√Change your shopping habits. Bagged salad, for instance, is one of the number one foods wasted. Buy bagged salads only on the days you plan to use them.

√And of course, choose products like EcoScraps that are made from food waste that’s been recycled.

What other ideas do you have for reducing food waste? Please share!

NOTE: Sponsors like EcoScraps enable us to bring you expert content at no cost to you. Our editorial opinions remain our own.  

*Source – Packing News

WIN A $50 GIFT CARD!

EcoScraps wants to make it easy for you to try their product, so they’re offering one lucky Big Green Purse reader a $50 Gift Card, which you can use at any WalMart store. For a chance at winning the card, please leave a comment in the comments section below telling us what you are growing in your garden this year and why you think gardening organically is so important. The winner will be chosen at random.

Please leave your comment below by Noon ET on June 28.

The post Why Does EcoScraps Turn Old Bananas Into Potting Soil, Plant Food? appeared first on Big Green Purse.