According to the EPA, more than 34 million tons of food waste gas generated in 2010 alone. Food scraps are the largest percentage of waste going to municipal landfills and combusted for energy recovery, making up 21 percent of the waste in landfills. Dumping food waste into landfills causes odor upon decomposition and attracts flies and vermin. Rotting waste in landfills also produces methane, which is a greenhouse gas.

Reducing the amount of food waste going into landfills has economic, social and environmental benefits. Environmental benefits include reducing the amount of methane landfills create, reducing the amount of resources needed for food production, and improving soil quality through composting. Economic benefits include lower costs associated with disposal and reduction in costs associated with over-purchasing. Social benefits are mostly related to using the food produced to feed the millions of Americans that struggle to find enough food each day, as opposed to wasting such food.