New research shows that implementing nationwide food recycling would have enormous climate benefits, but it would come with a troubling tradeoff. The complexities of cutting food wasteThe EPA has set a goal to cut U.S. food waste in half—down to about 160 pounds (74 kilograms) per capita—by 2030. The trouble is, the compost and digestates produced by a national food waste ban would contain a significant amount of microplastics. What’s more, a lot of plastic packaging gets mixed in with food waste accidentally or through inadequate sorting, Porterfield told WBUR. “And if you’re talking about very, very large amounts of food waste, that can add up.”