How Much Is There? 

Milwaukee produces about 142,000 tons of food waste each year:

• ​100,500 tons of wasted food and spoilage
• 41,115 tons of food scraps

Milwaukee also produces 9,800 tons of compostable yard waste material each year

• The WDNR’s 2021 waste composition study determined the types of waste going into landfills in different areas of Wisconsin

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• In southeast Wisconsin, around 33% of MSW was organics, broken into helpful subcategories:
  • 15.4% wasted food and spoilage
  • 6.3% food scraps
  • 1.6% yard waste and branches under 6” diameter

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• Much like a river’s watershed, the area contributing trash to a landfill is the facility’s “wasteshed”
• ​Milwaukee has two clusters of landfills, one in the northwest corner of the county, the other in the southwest corner
• The annual intake of Municipal Solid Waste at each facility is tracked by the WDNR, as well as the available room remaining in each facility​
• Economic activity and population values are tracked by the Federal Reserve and the Census​
• Combining the intake rate with GDP and population allows an estimate of the total quantity Milwaukee County contributes to the landfills each year
• The WDNR’s 2021 waste composition study determined the types of waste going into landfills in different areas of Wisconsin
• In southeast Wisconsin, around 33% of MSW was organics, broken into helpful subcategories:
  • 15.4% wasted food and spoilage
  • 6.3% food scraps
  • 1.6% yard waste and branches under 6” diameter
• Annual contribution quantity x percentage organics = total food waste estimates​

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