A great deal of household garbage is produced in the kitchen. As part of the preparation process, inedible or unappetizing parts of food— peels, seeds, bones, shells, rinds, fat, gristle and stems—are removed for disposal. All sorts of metal, glass, paper, cardboard or plastic packaging is accumulated. After a typical meal, food scraps remain. Understanding that different types of waste can—and should—be managed differently creates opportunities for reducing the environmental impact of the waste generated in North American kitchens.