Evaluating the Sustainability of Urban Food Recovery Programs: A Quantitative Assessment in Chicago

Abstract

This study demonstrates the critical need for strategic transportation planning for sustainable food waste management in urban regions. The majority of food waste is generated from non-industrial sectors (i.e., residential, commercial, and institutional sectors that cluster in cities), while over two-thirds of discarded food could have been edible. Food recovery programs (FRPs) can help reduce food wastage, avoid the negative impacts of landfill disposal, and mitigate food insecurities. Notably, FRPs shift long-haul waste transport services destined for a central landfill location to local, short, and time-sensitive pick-up and delivery trips, which have not been carefully studied. This study quantifies the economic efficiency (i.e., cost) and environmental impact (i.e., emissions) of urban FRP scenarios by incorporating the characteristics of surplus food pick-up options, fleet, urban built environment, and donor program participation rates. The results of an empirical study in Chicago, U.S., show that urban FRPs can be both economically efficient and environmentally beneficial, although the preferred strategy for FRPs may vary by neighborhood characteristics. With strategic planning and management, the transportation cost could be as low as $ 0.06/lb of recovered food. Meanwhile, diverting 1 ton of edible food from landfills, on average, reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 97%, or 0.51 MTCO2e. If the estimated volume of 10,000 tons of surplus food in Chicago can be fully recovered, the regional net emission reduction can reach 5,100 MTCO2e, which is equivalent to removing 1,110 vehicles from the roads. This study is anticipated to provide planning insights into initiating and scaling up city-wide FRPs.