One of the most maddening aspects of modern life is the way we deal with food. Too many of our neighbors don't have enough of it. The rest of us waste too much of it. On top of those obscenities, our mindlessly discarded food ends up in landfills, where it decomposes and releases methane, a greenhouse gas that is more potent than carbon dioxide.
For the second straight year, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is targeting food waste in his proposed budget. And this plan is even better than last year's version. It's time for the state Legislature-in particular, the state Senate-to join the campaign.
The numbers make a compelling argument for action in New York and across the country. In America, we waste an estimated 40 percent of the food we produce, about $218 billion worth. Saving one-third of that would yield enough food to feed all 42 million Americans who suffer from hunger.
Cuomo's plan would require any organization generating more than 2 tons of excess food per week to donate edible items to a hunger-relief organization like a food bank, and to recycle the rest through composting or anaerobic digestion. The tonnage mandate is smart; it applies to about 1,700 large generators statewide, including hospitals, supermarkets, colleges, hotels and prisons that collectively waste about 400,000 tons per year, while exempting, for example, small restaurants and groceries. New York City, which has its own recycling plan, also is exempt.
The program would begin in 2021, good timing for Long Island. Construction should begin this summer in Yaphank on an anaerobic digester, a facility that will be able to accept 180,000 tons of food waste per year and convert it into compost while producing 6 megawatts of electricity. It should be operational by late summer 2019.
More food for the hungry, less space taken in landfills, reduced methane emissions, fewer trucks carting garbage off the Island, less air pollution, more energy-that's a recipe for success.