Sustainable America Brings Giant Grinder to Kentucky Derby Festival to Highlight Food Waste Issue

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - April 30, 2014 - PRLog -- Sustainable America has partnered with InSinkerator™ and the Kentucky Derby Festival to bring awareness of the food waste issue to the festival’s nearly one million attendees on Wednesday, April 30, and Thursday, May 1.

Sustainable America and InSinkerator will showcase “Grind2Energy” technology in the Chow Wagon food area of the Kentucky Derby Festival at Waterfront Park in the heart of Louisville.

Grind2Energy technology prepares food waste for an anaerobic digestion facility, where it can be recycled into valuable biogas and compost. Grind2Energy can process not only food scraps, but also the compostable cutlery, plates and plant-based cups that sometimes pose problems for composting facilities.

“With this technology, mega events like the Derby, South by Southwest, or even major football games can all become more sustainable,” said Jeremy Kranowitz, Executive Director of Sustainable America.

Nearly 40 percent of food grown in the United States is wasted – either at the farm, in transit, at grocery stores and restaurants, or in households. More than 95% of this food waste ends up in landfills, where it creates methane, a greenhouse gas with 21 times the heat-trapping capacity of carbon dioxide.

Instead of creating pollution, discarded food can be recycled into renewable energy and natural fertilizer through anaerobic digestion. Grind2Energy technology makes it possible for large-scale facilities to participate in this process and operate more sustainable, environmentally friendly events.

“We will show individuals and company owners how to be more efficient and to make sure that their waste goes to more valuable end products like compost or even vehicle fuel. Think of Doc Brown at the end of the movie ‘Back to the Future’ when he used a beer and a banana peel to power the DeLorean,” Kranowitz said.

About Sustainable America

Sustainable America, an environmental non-profit based in Stamford, Connecticut, works to improve the sustainability of the U.S. food and transportation fuel systems through awareness, engagement, and investment programs that emphasize personal involvement and behavior change. Learn more at www.sustainableamerica.org.