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Chew On This: Farmers Are Using Food Waste To Make Electricity

Peter Melnik, a fourth-generation dairy farmer, owns Bar-Way Farm, Inc. in Deerfield, Mass. He has an anaerobic digester on his farm that converts food waste into renewable energy. Allison Aubrey/NPR hide caption

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Allison Aubrey/NPR

The Salt

Chew On This: Farmers Are Using Food Waste To Make Electricity

Dairy farmers in Massachusetts are using food waste to create renewable energy. Each farm produces enough to power about 1,500 homes. This helps prevent the release of methane, a greenhouse gas.

Chew On This: Farmers Are Using Food Waste To Make Electricity

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Massachusetts Food Waste Ban Gains Broad Acceptance

Massachusetts composting companies like City Soil, which turn food waste into compost that can be used on gardens and farms, say they expect to get quite a bit of new business from the food waste ban. Courtesy of City Soil hide caption

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Courtesy of City Soil

The Salt

Massachusetts Food Waste Ban Gains Broad Acceptance

New England Public Media

Massachusetts law now says that if you throw out more than a ton of food waste a month, it can't go to a landfill. But many institutions had already begun composting waste or turning it into energy.

Massachusetts Food Waste Ban Gains Broad Acceptance

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