Current:Home > ContactWant to fight climate change and food waste? One app can do both -Wealth Evolution Experts
Want to fight climate change and food waste? One app can do both
Burley Garcia View
Date:2025-04-06 17:42:50
More than a third of food grown in the U.S. goes uneaten, and that percentage has increased in the past five years. Much of that food ends up in landfills, where it decomposes, creating a potent gas that contributes to global warming.
A company based in Denmark has spent the past eight years working to bring that percentage down by helping restaurants sell food cheaply.
Too Good To Go works with businesses to sell their end-of-day leftovers for 60%-80% off. By matching hungry, cost-conscious customers with surplus food, the app's creators say they minimize waste, one bag of saved food at a time.
"I think it's doing that on a micro scale and having a macro impact," says Chris MacAulay, the app's U.S. country manager.
The app started in Denmark in 2015. Today there are participating stores in 17 countries and more than a dozen U.S. cities including New York, Phoenix and Seattle. Several cities including Santa Barbara, Minneapolis and Atlanta just started participating this year. The company claims Los Angeles is its most successful city yet. Next, it's headed to cities in the southeast.
MacAulay says the cheaper price tag and the recouped business costs are great side effects, but that's not the main point. "The kernel of the why is really around reducing food waste," he says. "Because it's such a large contributor to CO2e."
CO2e stands for the carbon dioxide equivalent of a product's total planet-warming gas emissions.
When someone buys a "surprise bag," the app adds that purchase to the consumer's lifetime climate impact tally. It displays all the electricity and the carbon emissions prevented from going to waste.
"We've saved over 250 million meals," MacAulay says. "That's one meal every three seconds. So if you think about the scale, it is having an impact."
Rotten food in landfills makes a potent planet-warming gas called methane. The climate impact also includes the land and water used to grow that food and the gas used to power the trucks and factories that prepare and transport food.
According to the app's estimate, that translates to taking about 135,000 cars off the road for a year.
"That's a huge amount, especially considering that in the U.S. all food loss and waste accounts for about 6% of our total greenhouse gas emissions footprint," says Alexandria Coari with the food waste nonprofit ReFED, where she's the vice president of capital, innovation and engagement.
Coari says companies like Too Good To Go have the potential to reduce the equivalent carbon emissions of 870,000 cars in a year. "Marked-down alert apps like that of Too Good To Go are one of the top 10 solutions to fighting food loss and waste as well as climate change," she says.
These apps are especially popular among businesses that produce baked goods, since they can't sell stale food the next day. So there's no shortage of pastries, doughnuts, pizzas and bagels available.
"I think in the areas where they've tried to expand into retail grocery, even into manufacturing, there's still a little bit to be figured out there," Coari says.
Grocery stores increasingly have programs to divert food waste, by repurposing unsold produce into pre-made meals, providing in-store clearance sections and partnering with local food banks.
MacAulay says there is an especially high demand for bags from the grocery partners the app has.
"That's one of our responsibilities is to continue to broaden the selection on the app," says MacAulay. "We know that there are really popular surprise bags out there. And we want to make sure that people have a chance to get them."
veryGood! (3)
Related
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
- Native American tribes gain new authority to stop unwanted hydopower projects
- Some Republicans are voicing doubt over Alabama IVF ruling. Democrats see an opportunity
- Senate calls on Pentagon watchdog to investigate handling of abuse allegations against Army doctor
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- Report: Former NBA player Matt Barnes out as Sacramento Kings television analyst
- Fire traps residents in two high-rise buildings in Valencia, Spain, killing at least 4, officials say
- Washington lawmakers advance bill making it a felony to threaten election workers
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- S🍩S doughnuts: Free Krispy Kreme sweetens day after nationwide cellphone outage
Ranking
- Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
- Why King Charles has been 'reduced to tears' following cancer diagnosis
- DOE announces conditional $544 million loan for silicon carbide wafer production at Michigan plant
- Man shot to death in New York City subway car
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- Amy Schumer Calls Out Critics Who Are “Mad” She’s Not Thinner and Prettier
- China to send 2 pandas to San Diego Zoo, may send some to D.C. zoo as well
- Transcript: 911 caller asking police ‘Help me,’ then screams, preceded deadly standoff in Minnesota
Recommendation
John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
China to send 2 pandas to San Diego Zoo, may send some to D.C. zoo as well
Dolly Parton Proves She’ll Always Love Beyoncé With Message on Her Milestone
The Excerpt podcast: Can Beyoncé convince country music she belongs?
Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
Best women's basketball games to watch: An angry Caitlin Clark? That's must-see TV.
Reigning Olympic champ Suni Lee headlines USA Gymnastics Winter Cup. What to know
Tom Hanks' Son Chet Hanks Heats Up His TV Career With New Mindy Kaling Role