Garbology At Home!
At WOLF School, even our meals are a chance to learn and experiment.
Garbology is the scientific study of garbage - and studying what we throw away can decrease our impact on the environment - and save our families money!
The goal is not to avoid eating, or to eat every bite on our plates even after we’re full, but to observe our eating patterns and to see how we can waste less food.
Use the printable worksheets below to do your own garbology study at home. What ways can you discover to reduce food waste at home?
Why should we care about GARBOLOGY?
Food takes ENERGY! to grow, package, and deliver (anyone remember Nelly the Noodle from camp?). When we throw it away, that’s TONS (literally) of greenhouse gasses going into the atmosphere.
Discarded rotting food produces methane (yep, the smelly stuff), which is 25x more harmful to our climate than carbon dioxide!
In the US, 30-40% of food is wasted each year. If we all cut that waste in half, we could feed 25 million people!
Families waste about 240 pounds of food a year - that’s $1,200!
**Many Americans are struggling to get their next meal during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are fortunate enough, consider donating to Feeding America to help.**