Reduce, reuse, then recycle. It’s important to remember to follow these guidelines in that order. As much as we love composting your food waste here at Cold Creek Compost, we want to remind you that it’s even better if your food scraps never make it to the garbage can at all.

A huge portion of America’s food waste is perfectly good food that just couldn’t find a hungry mouth to feed before it ended up in the trash. We’ve stumbled across a few apps, aimed at businesses as well as families, that can help reduce the amount of food that gets thrown out. These apps help make the most of our food, and one was even developed by a seventh-grader! Check it out at waste360.com.

Below: Happy Holidays from Cold Creek, but don’t let your Christmas leftovers go to waste!