Each year millions of pounds of food is sold to Disneyland Resort park attendants -- 7 million hamburgers, 5 million hotdogs, and 9 million pounds of french fries to list a few. While these numbers are astronomically impressive, any left over food which doesn't get consumed contributes to an even larger, more substantial, study of data. Food waste is the number one discarded landfill material generated by humans (35 million tons of which was thrown away in 2012 reported by the EPA), and contributes to the dangerous production of methane as it decomposes. This greenhouse gas is extremely harmful to the atmosphere and its emissions "[causes] about 25% of the manmade global warming we're experiencing today" (Environmental Defense Fund). Climate change is a serious issue and given that food waste has such a detrimental impact on the environment, Disneyland Resort's partnership with the EPA's Food Recovery Challenge to not only bring about awareness of the problem, but to focus on the reduction and prevention of wasted food is one to respectfully acknowledge. Starting in 2013 Disneyland Resort has made great strides in reducing their environmental food waste footprint through a variety of efforts including but not limited to:
- Converting more than 1,200 tons of on-site used cooking oil (from resort restaurants) to biodiesel, which fuels the Disneyland Railroad and Mark Twain Riverboat. This change in turn has reduced the resort's consumption of petroleum-based diesel by roughly 150,000 gallons/year
- Producing 600,000 pounds of compost per year from collection of animal waste, hay scraps, and wood shavings from the Circle D Corral (working ranch home to animals of the Disneyland Resort) in addition to laundry lint from hotel clothes dryers and coffee grounds from resort restaurants. Disneyland Resort was the first location in The Walt Disney Company or any theme park to receive a zero-waste certification for achieving a 99.8% diversion rate at Circle D Corral (recognized by the US Zero Waste Business Council)
- Donating more than 110,000 pounds of packaged food to the surplus food donation program it began in December 2014
In just two years more than 7 million pounds of food scraps have been diverted from entering landfills by Disneyland Resort. The agency has not only "achieved the highest percentage increase in food recovery" out of all its Resort locations, but "of any theme park in the nation." To put it mildly, we are highly impressed!
In addition to food waste reduction and recovery efforts, the Walt Disney Company has also been addressing many other influential environmental factors such as reducing pesticide use on landscapes, protecting natural wildlife habitats, recycling, and building community gardens. The company has also communicated its long-term goals of reducing their net greenhouse gas emissions by 50% (from 2012 total levels) by 2020.
Disney fans now have another reason to be happy at The Happiest Place On Earth!
The above facts, figures and examples were cited and can be found from the following sources:
- Environmental Leader - Disneyland's Zero-Waste Efforts Earn EPA Award April 30, 2015
- Environmental Defense Fund - Methane: The other important greenhouse gas 2015
- The Walt Disney Company - Official Disney Blog: Disney Park Cast Members and Guests Join Together to Protect the Planet April 22, 2015
- The Walt Disney Company - Citizenship: Performance: Environmental Stewardship 2015
No comments :
Post a Comment