Every year, roughly one third – or 1.4 billion tons – of the food produced in the world for human consumption ends up in landfills. By some estimates, this adds up to nearly $1 trillion of annual squander and the production of nearly 8 percent of human-caused greenhouse gases. And while addressing the problem would require drastic lifestyle adjustments in individuals, entrepreneurs are seeing food waste as a big business opportunity. In the US alone , companies fighting food waste attracted around $125 million in venture capital and private equity funding in the first 10 months of 2018, a number that is expected to rise. The hope for serious change and the greatest opportunity for investment rests with grocery stores, where narrow margins and tough competition among the biggest retailers provide bottom-line incentives. Start-ups are also increasingly getting more involved in combating the waste issue by offering solutions like selling discounted surplus food to restaurants and commercial kitchens or using machine learning to help retailers buy just enough to keep inventories in balance.
Investors are putting millions of dollars into companies that fight food waste
More of Today's Solutions
WasteBar turns cigarette butt waste into food currency in the Netherlands
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM There is a small mobile cart somewhere in the Netherlands right now, and if you bring it a ...
Read More5 plant-health boosting orange peel tricks to use in your garden this summer
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Every orange you eat comes with a second product most people toss without thinking. The peel is packed ...
Read MoreHere’s why you should wash your clothes with cold water
Washing your clothes with hot water may be an effective way to remove stains, but doing so with every laundry batch takes its toll ...
Read MoreHow to host a more sustainable super bowl party
This year, the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee in collaboration with NFL Green is working together to make this year’s Super Bowl as sustainable ...
Read More
