Of the first five US states with food waste bans, Massachusetts alone has reduced landfill waste
成果类型：
Article
署名作者：
Anglou, Fiorentia Zoi; Sanders, Robert Evan; Stamatopoulos, Ioannis
署名单位：
University of Texas System; University of Texas Austin; University of California System; University of California San Diego
刊物名称：
SCIENCE
ISSN/ISSBN：
0036-9365
DOI：
10.1126/science.adn4216
发表日期：
2024-09-13
页码：
1236-1240
关键词：
摘要：
Diverting food waste from landfills is crucial to reduce emissions and meet Paris Agreement targets. Between 2014 and 2024, nine US states banned commercial waste generators-such as grocery chains-from landfilling food waste, expecting a 10 to 15% waste reduction. However, no evaluation of these bans exists. We compile a comprehensive waste dataset covering 36 US states between 1996 and 2019 to evaluate the first five implemented state-level bans. Contrary to policy-makers' expectations, we can reject aggregate waste reductions higher than 3.2%, and we cannot reject a zero-null aggregate effect. Moreover, we cannot reject a zero-null effect for any other state except Massachusetts, which gradually achieved a 13.2% reduction. Our findings reveal the need to reassess food waste bans using Massachusetts as a benchmark for success.