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Milwaukee Food Waste




​Assessment

Milwaukees path to zero food waste: an actionable roadmap

In May of 2025, WasteCap held a public showcase of the results of the Milwaukee Food Waste & Recovery Study - an effort supporting FEED MKE and Milwaukee’s Climate & Equity Plan. The recording below highlights the results of the three key questions asked by the study:

1) How much food waste is being produced in Milwaukee?
2) What infrastructure, action, and collaboration would be needed to get to zero food waste in Milwaukee?
3) Where are the best areas of the county to site that infrastructure?

2024 Milwaukee Food Waste Assessment:

Processing Needs - Summary of Findings

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The written report provides additional detail, including resources and data used to evaluate the maximum potential of food waste diversion in Milwaukee County, and provides recommendations at the city and county level to eliminate food waste to landfill and recover those nutrients in the community. 

The report includes background information, an evaluation of the quantity of food waste, what can be done with the food waste, where it is coming from, where we could send it, and the potential benefits of getting to zero food waste to landfill, economically and environmentally: job creation, feeding the hungry, and decreasing carbon emissions, increasing energy production and restoring degraded soils. 

Key Statistics:
Milwaukee County landfills: 
  • An average of 142,000 tons of edible food, spoilage, and food scraps each year

Better uses for landfilled food waste would: 
  • Satisfy the remaining food insecurity in Milwaukee (a $94.5 million value) by sending 11,550 tons of wasted edible food to redistribution centers
  • Restore 470 acres of degraded farmland per year (or stop degradation on 6,350 acres) by sending 17,640 tons of food waste and the yard waste currently sent to landfill to composters
  • Produce 0.3% of Milwaukee’s natural gas demand by sending 112,735 tons of food waste to biodigestion facilities
  • Reduce Milwaukee’s greenhouse gas emissions by 1% and increase our local landfills operating life by 7.5%
  • Create >40 full time jobs
​

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It would require:
  • 240,000 square feet of food redistribution facilities
  • 35 acres of compost processing facilities
  • 5 million gallons of biodigestion facilities
  • MMSD taking an additional 3,000 tons per year down the drain and an additional 2,000 tons per year at their High Strength Digester
  • Coordination of nonprofits and government programs
  • Cooperation of the utilities, towns and cities in the county
  • ​Zoning and building code updates including possible TIFF or Opportunity Zone creation
  • Public/private partnerships and investment
  • And most importantly: leadership, education, and a can-do attitude!

More details:
How Much Is There?
Where To Send It?
What to Do With It?
What Are the Benefits?
Where Is It Coming From?

A little background...

  • WasteCap joined stakeholders invited by the City of Milwaukee to participate in the development of an EPA grant proposal to reduce food waste
  • The FEED MKE initiative was born from this group, but not all needs could be covered by the grant
  • WasteCap identified a missing element: the quantity of food waste that needed to be handled was unknown, and therefore the scale of the solutions needed were also unknown​
  • Bruce Wiggins, a Milwaukee resident, identified the importance of this information for the city’s efforts and stepped forward to kick off the study, with the Greater Milwaukee Foundation providing the additional funds to complete the work  -We heartily thank them both for their contributions!​


​We'd also like to thank the following organizations provided data and input for the study:
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Milwaukee, WI 53233


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  • About Us
    • Our Board
    • Our Team
    • WasteCap History >
      • 1990- 1999
      • 2000- 2012
      • 2013- 2020
      • 2021- 2023
    • Associations
    • Our Partners
    • Testimonials
  • Waste Diversion
    • Facility Operations
    • Waste Audits
    • Construction & Demolition
    • Online Tracking Tool
  • Green Certifications
    • LEED® Certification
    • Living Building Challenge
    • STARS
    • TRUE Zero Waste
  • Programs & Resources
    • Sustaining Small Business Program
    • Wisconsin Recycling Directory
    • Milwaukee Food Waste Assessement >
      • How Much Is There?
      • What To Do With It?
      • Where Is It Coming From?
      • Where to Send It?
      • Zero Food Waste Benefits
    • Past Programs
  • Get Involved
    • Donate
    • Become a Member
    • News