By Pacific Island Times News Staff
Guam’s food waste problem can be a solution to hunger. Instead of tossing food surplus to the landfill, they may be donated to families in need without consequential litigation, which is the intent of a new bill seeking liability protection for food donors.
Sen. Sabina Flores Perez’s Bill 89-38, titled “the Inafa’maolek Food Donation Act,” derived from the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, a federal law that encourages companies and organizations to donate healthy food that would otherwise go to waste.
"With rising food insecurity and thousands of pounds of edible food being wasted every year, we must remove unnecessary barriers to food donation," Perez said.
She noted that Guam's food banks and nonprofits currently struggle to meet growing demands, especially amid the rising cost of food and groceries.
Perez said the bill would also address the environmental impact of food waste being dumped into Guam's landfill.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, food waste comprises 24 percent of U.S. landfills but emits 58 percent of methane gas released into the atmosphere.
"Methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, is emitted from landfills, resulting from the decaying of organic waste over time under anaerobic conditions," EPA said. "Due to its quick decay rate, food waste in landfills is contributing to more methane emissions than any other landfilled materials."
Locally, food waste makes up 26 percent of Guam’s waste stream with an estimated 20,000 tons of wholesome food landfilled per year.
Instead of going to waste, this amount could feed around 12 percent of the island’s population, Perez said.
"Bill 89-38 ensures that businesses and organizations can confidently donate food without fear of legal repercussions while curbing methane emissions from organic waste and cutting government costs by extending the life of our landfill,” Perez said.
The bill also seeks to encourage the Guam Department of Public Health and Social Services to increase awareness and provide information about food donation laws, promoting businesses to participate in food recovery programs and waste reduction.
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