SOUTH JERSEY (KYW Newsradio) — “Best by” and “use by” – what’s it all mean?
Often, many find themselves confused by these dates, causing them to inevitably toss what could be perfectly fine food.
New Jersey lawmakers are aiming to change this with two bills.
One would incorporate more clear labeling on packages. The other would aim to reduce waste and keep it out of landfills.
“You need to have absolute consistency in food date labels and what those labels mean,” said State Senator Bob Smith.
Smith says there’s too much food that goes to waste for families and large organizations, like schools, and only two major treatment facilities for composting on a large scale in the state.
Related
To reduce waste in places like schools, the bill would have them collect food waste instead of throwing it in the trash.
They would then have one of the custodians drive the food to either a central school, wherever their location may be, and have the food go through the “digestion process” to produce methane gas and generate electricity, Smith explained.
“Every county in New Jersey where you have a sewer authority, the digesters are already there,” Smith said.
Related
“This stuff could be put right into the sludge digester and generate more gas for heating and/or electricity, so it would be a great way to recycle food waste, not let it get into the ground.”
Smith says the facilities to do this are there, they just have to connect the dots.
Both bills passed in committee votes and Smith is hopeful they will be up for a full vote soon.