Mandatory food recycling to begin in California

Banana peels, chicken bones and leftover veggies won't be allowed in most California trash bins under the nation's largest mandatory residential food waste recycling program that's set to take effect in January.  California will be required to toss excess food into green waste bins rather than the trash. The goal is to turn food scraps into compost or energy rather than let them decay and emit methane.

Joy Klineberg, Homeowner said "It's really easy. I mean, all you're changing is where you're throwing things. It's just another bin." "I appreciate that we can be making a change without really impacting our lives very much."

The food waste will go to facilities for composting or for turning it into energy through anaerobic digestion, a process that creates biogas that can be used like natural gas for heating and electricity. About 40% of food is wasted in the United States and once that food is in landfills it creates about 15% of the nation's methane emissions, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.