(GRE) $19 MILLION FOOD WASTE INVESTMENT

The Robertson Foundation has invested $19M in six organisations working to lower methane emissions from the food system via plant-forward dietary shifts and food waste reduction.

US grant-making organisation Robertson Foundation is pouring millions into efforts to reduce emissions from the agrifood system. The philanthropic group, established by Tiger Management founder Jilian Robertson Jr three decades ago, has committed $19M to six organisations advancing practical solutions to lower methane emissions from across the food industry.

The beneficiaries of the investment, which covers a three-year period, are Tilt Collective, American Heart Association, World Resources Institute, World Wildlife Fund, Full Circle Future, and Zero Food Waste Coalition.

“These six organisations are demonstrating that addressing climate change can begin in unexpected places – from the food we serve to the food we waste,” Christy Loper, environment programme director at the Robertson Foundation, said in a LinkedIn post. The organisations receiving the funding are focused on one of two key approaches to curbing methane emissions from the food system.

The World Wildlife Fund, Zero Food Waste Coalition and Full Circle Future are all targeting food waste reduction. Their efforts include standardising date labels, supporting composting and food-sharing programmes in K-12 schools, and designing policies to prevent organic waste from entering landfills. “Food waste and the methane pollution it creates is finally getting the attention it deserves, and that’s thanks in large part to funders who’ve been willing to invest in this work long before it was in the spotlight,” Katherine Blauvelt, executive director of Full Circle Future, said in a LinkedIn post.

The other three organisations are leveraging the potential of dietary shifts. Tilt Collective and the World Resources Institute will work to increase access to healthy protein offerings at universities, hospitals, stadiums, and restaurants. More of this article (green queen) - link - more like this (food waste) - link - more like this (methane emissions) - link

(GUF) PADWORTH

Image inspiration - Leonora Carrington - link

This week I had the opportunity to take a client on a Duty of Care visit to Veolia's In Vessel Composting facility at Padworth.

From the moment you arrive, the scale of the operation is impressive. Thousands of tonnes of green waste pass through the site each year, transforming what many people dismiss as little more than garden rubbish into high-quality compost that meets the demanding PAS 100 specification.

Waste management is often perceived as a simple process: collect it, tip it and move on. The reality is very different. Every successful recycling operation depends on the knowledge, judgement and experience of the people running it. Their decisions determine whether a material genuinely becomes a valuable product or simply remains waste destined for disposal.

At Padworth, every stage of the composting process is carefully controlled. Incoming loads are inspected, unsuitable materials are removed, feedstocks are blended to achieve the correct balance and temperature, moisture and oxygen levels are continually monitored throughout the composting cycle. These controls aren't simply good practice, they're essential to producing a safe, consistent product that complies with resupply accreditation.

Watching the process reinforces an important point. Recycling doesn't happen because material arrives at a facility. It happens because skilled people understand how to process that material correctly, recognise problems before they become failures and maintain exacting standards day after day and that's something I believe our industry often struggles to communicate. We tend to showcase the equipment, the vehicles and the technology, yet the greatest asset at any recycling facility is the expertise of the people operating it and without that knowledge, the most sophisticated machinery in the world is simply steel and hydraulics.

Visits such as this are invaluable because they allow our clients to see what happens beyond the collection vehicle. They demonstrate that compliant recycling is a carefully managed manufacturing process, not simply waste disappearing through a gate.

Many thanks to the team at Veolia Padworth for taking the time to show us around and for sharing their knowledge so openly. It was a timely reminder that the success of the circular economy depends not only on the infrastructure we build, but on the professionalism of the people who make it work every single day. More like this (IVC) - link - more like this (Veolia) - link - more like this (composting) - link