Wasting less food and diverting food waste from landfill are critical levers for reducing methane emissions and slowing climate change.

Today, ReFED, a U.S.-based nonprofit that works to advance solutions to food waste, released new data with support from the Global Methane Hub that reveals the methane hotspots for uneaten or “surplus” food in the U.S., and highlights corresponding solutions that can reduce waste and slash methane emissions. The analysis is the first of its kind to provide a full lifecycle view of methane emissions from surplus food and shows that reducing food loss and waste presents a significant—and often overlooked—opportunity to cut methane and act as an “emergency brake” to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.

ReFED found that across the U.S., surplus food is responsible for almost four million metric tons of methane (MTCH4)—nearly 14% of the country’s total methane emissions and the equivalent to what’s generated by 75 million cars annually. Methane comes both from the production of food—primarily beef and dairy—and from systems like landfills and sewers used to manage food when it becomes waste.

“Because of its shorter lifespan and potency, reducing methane emissions is seen as an emergency brake in the fight against climate change,” says Dana Gunders, president of ReFED. “This new data emphasizes how wasting less food is a critical lever, because it is effectively a one-two punch, reducing methane both in the production of food as well as in its disposal.”

The report highlights three key strategies to achieving reduced methane emissions from food loss and waste:

• Establishing organics diversion infrastructure, which could avoid an estimated 800,000 MTCH4 (2.8% of total U.S. methane emissions) from landfill and sewer;

• Addressing consumer food waste, which could avoid an estimated 463,000 MTCH4 (1.6% of total U.S. methane emissions), and

• Incentivizing business adoption of food waste prevention solutions, which could avoid an estimated 400,000 MTCH4 (1.4% of total U.S. methane emissions).

“The impact of reducing methane now can actually be felt in just a decade or so, and preventing food from becoming waste is one of the most effective actions we can take to drive that reduction immediately,” says Minnie Ringland, manager, climate and insights at ReFED. “At the same time, food waste in landfills is a major methane hotspot, so scaling up composting and anaerobic digestion infrastructure to handle unavoidable scraps is also critical.”

Download the report. You can also watch a webinar recording sharing insights and analysis on the new data below.