Tackling food waste: Advocates push for composting to help keep billions of pounds of wasted food from landfills
April 22, 2026
VIRGINIA BEACH — When people think about environmental issues and reducing waste, recycling cardboard shipping boxes or plastics often comes to mind.
But this Earth Day, advocates are highlighting a problem that’s happening in nearly every household: food waste.
Cameron Kania, the owner and founder of Tidewater Compost, says the scale of the issue is staggering.
“There's actually over 80 billion pounds of food that are wasted every year in the U.S. alone, which is more than any other country in the world,” he said. “That's roughly 30 to 40% of the entire US food supply. Those are just absolutely staggering numbers.”
Most of that wasted food ends up in landfills, where it contributes to a growing environmental burden.
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Tidewater Compost is a GSCCC Program Partner.
