One of South Carolina’s newest initiatives is to reduce food waste since food waste is the Number 1 item thrown away in landfills annually. Our state’s goal, as you may also see below, is to cut the 607,000 tons wasted in half by 2030. We would like to invite you to a Sept 16 event at Coastal Carolina in Conway, SC that features speakers from both the state and the Horry County area and highlights the opportunities for both public and private sector entities to reduce food waste. To register: https://frresept16.eventbrite.com.
 
WHAT: The  South Carolina Department of Commerce and DHEC are inviting organizations to the first Horry County Food Recovery Resource Exchange on Friday September 16th from 10:00am- 3:00pm at Coastal Carolina University (CCU), HTC Suite 207, 104 Founders Drive, Conway, SC 29526. Register here: https://frresept16.eventbrite.com. Join us to share your interest regarding this different approach to waste.  Lunch and parking are available at no cost to attendees who RSVP in advance for their place at the table.
 
WHY: This meeting is designed to explore opportunities for commercial food waste prevention, donation and composting in the Coastal/Pee Dee area.  Food waste makes up 21% of the waste in SC, not including other organics such as tree trimmings and yard debris which add an additional 13.5% to the waste stream.  Organics recovery is a new but fast-growing market area with Horry County Solid Waste Authority’s new compost facility. In contrast to all the wasted food, 1 in 6 South Carolinians are hungry or food insecure.  We are providing organizations educational opportunities, technical resources, and practical applications to implement to change this dynamic. In fact, the state goal is to cut food waste by 50% in South Carolina by 2030.
 
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?  Restaurants, hotels, waste contractors, farmers, food manufacturers, composters, food banks, food pantries, food rescue partners, sustainable chefs, food distributors, schools, colleges, local governments and any organization interested in preventing, composting or donating food or organics.
 
HOW TO REGISTER: Please register on Eventbrite at https://frresept16.eventbrite.com.  If you cannot attend, please send a representative from your company.
 
Also, here are the two websites regarding SC’s work toward reducing food waste  www.scdhec.gov/dontwastefoodsc and www.recyclinginsc.com/food.