The business of redirecting surplus
Entrepreneurs and large investors are expanding efforts to capture value from food that would otherwise be discarded. Too Good To Go, a Denmark-based surplus marketplace active in 70 U.S. cities, connects restaurants and grocers with consumers willing to buy end-of-day items at steep discounts. The company estimates that eight meals are rescued every second through its mobile platform, offering users so-called “surprise bags” priced 50 to 60 percent below retail.
Chief Operating Officer Chris MacAulay said demand is rising as grocery costs climb and SNAP uncertainty spreads. For retailers, listing unsold pizza, baked goods or produce for a modest return is more attractive than paying disposal fees.
Beyond digital marketplaces, large financial players are moving into the broader waste-management sector. Effram Kaplan, who leads environmental infrastructure banking at Brown Gibbons Lang & Company, noted that predictable returns and increasing regulatory pressure have made waste assets appealing to institutional capital. While Europe has long attracted infrastructure funds to recycling and anaerobic digestion projects, similar investment strategies are only now gaining traction in the United States.
Technology lowers entry barriers
A wave of start-ups is leveraging artificial intelligence and connected devices to cut waste at both the household and commercial levels. Mill, founded by one of the creators of the Nest thermostat, has raised roughly $100 million for an internet-enabled kitchen bin that dehydrates scraps into an odor-free soil amendment. In professional kitchens, Metafoodx employs a 3-D scanner paired with AI software to track ingredient usage and identify over-ordering patterns, following a $9.4 million Series A round closed in May 2024.
Service providers that haul, sort and process organic material are also using software to streamline operations. Vsimple, which supplies dispatch and invoicing tools to industrial recyclers, says automated routing can cut idle time and boost margins for mid-sized haulers that compete with national firms.
Composting from curbside buckets to municipal contracts
Portland, Maine-based Garbage to Garden illustrates how small ventures can scale in the organics market. Founder Tyler Frank launched the curbside compost service in 2012 with one truck and $300 after discovering that apartment dwellers lacked practical composting options. The subscription model now serves about 50,000 households and has secured collection contracts in Boston and Medford, Massachusetts. Collected material is processed into compost that is either sold to local farms or returned to subscribers as finished soil.
Imagem: Internet
Frank acknowledges that tighter household budgets could reduce the volume of food his company picks up, because SNAP recipients already tend to stretch groceries further. Nonetheless, he views waste services as recession-resilient and expects continued expansion as municipalities adopt diversion mandates.
Income level determines waste habits
Research by Colby College economist Ben Scharadin indicates that lower-income families—particularly those relying on SNAP—discard less food than wealthier households. Limited resources force stricter meal planning, leaving little room for spoilage. Younger and more affluent consumers, by contrast, exhibit the highest waste rates and are more likely to purchase premium compost subscriptions.
Scharadin predicts that if SNAP delays persist, demand could shift toward secondary markets such as surplus apps, where shoppers accept limited choice in exchange for lower prices. Even with emerging tools, he stresses that prevention remains the most effective strategy: reducing over-production and improving forecasting can curb waste before it enters the disposal chain.
Policy backdrop and next steps
The federal government has committed to cutting national food waste in half by 2030, aligning with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s food recovery hierarchy. That goal places additional pressure on retailers, manufacturers and households to adopt practices that divert edible inventory into food banks, animal feed or industrial uses before resorting to composting or landfills.
Whether SNAP payments resume on schedule this week or face further interruptions, advocates warn that any lapse will intensify food insecurity just as vast quantities remain unused. Bridging the gap between surplus and need, they argue, requires coordinated action from government, business and consumers alike.
Crédito da imagem: Bloomberg
