Sustainable San Mateo County report focuses on waste and consumption of food

Building a government culture where individuals feel comfortable choosing plant-based foods can have broader, positive implications, Program Manager Simona Vallone said.

“In municipal buildings, so that even within the city and the county, they can start kind of building that culture,” she said. “Whether it’s green Mondays or including more plant-based options on their menu, or having plant-based by default.” 

The issue is particularly important because food consumption was the third-largest producer of carbon emissions in the county in 2023, but solutions didn't recieve much attention at a city or countywide level, Program Manager Simona Vallone said. 

Most citywide climate action plans don’t address the issue at all, Vallone said, but examples from other states show that local governments and businesses have a role to play — in New York, for example, the hospital system was able to reduce food-related emissions by 36% by committing to purchasing more sustainable food. 

The report also offered a variety of suggestions for local cities to help reduce food waste. Though solid waste emission totals have declined steadily in the county since 2005, actions from establishing steady funding for food recovery programs to expanding compost bins can all make a difference, per the report. 

Groups like Second Harvest, for example, play a vital role in redistributing food from supermarkets that might otherwise go to waste, which is a legal requirement in California. 

“We ask there’s there will be a bigger financial commitment from the county, because right now, this organization [doesn’t] receive a stable funding for that, but they are actually providing a service that we have,” Vallone said. 

During a Sustainable San Mateo County event unveiling the report Oct. 1, other community leaders shared novel programs they are piloting to reduce food waste and promote recovery. At Green Hills Elementary School in Millbrae, for example, a table is set out at lunchtime for students to put food they don’t want to eat, and others are encouraged to grab it. 

“One is they’re diverting food that otherwise would go in the landfill. Two is they’re giving kids choice,” Communications and Outreach Lead Mollie Carter said. “Three is just the education component, really teaching kids at a younger age what all this means and how it impacts the climate. 

Of 150 schools in the county, only 13 have formally registered to implement the program, she said. 

On a city level, strengthening green bin education, sharing key waste metrics with the community, allowing community reporting for missing compost bins and expanding compost bin placement can all encourage the proper sorting of food waste. 

“Enforcement varies across the county, so there’s still a lot that needs to be done so that we actually avoid organic waste from ending up in the landfill,” Vallone said.