---
title: "$6M in Grants Support Work to Create Biofuels, Bioplastics From Food Waste"
date: 2021-09-01T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/6m-in-grants-support-work-to-create-biofuels-bioplastics-from-food-waste"
section: Articles
---
# $6M in Grants Support Work to Create Biofuels, Bioplastics From Food Waste

*September 1, 2021* — by [Samantha Watters](/author/samantha-watters)


> UMD Researcher Seeks to Reduce Reliance on Fossil Fuels, Landfills

*I Stock 1876766870 1920x1080 — Up to one-third of the Earth's food is never eaten, but two new projects by a University of Maryland environmental science and technology researcher (below) seek to turn this waste into marketable biofuel and bioplastic projects.*

From leftovers neglected in the fridge until they go bad to crops that spoil because of faulty storage, a shocking one-third of the world’s food—nearly 1.5 billion tons yearly, according to a United Nations estimate—goes uneaten.

Now, a University of Maryland professor is leading two new grants totaling $6 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop sustainable products from food that otherwise would become waste.


*Stephanie Lansing portrait*




**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Environmental Science and Technology](https://today.umd.edu/topic/environmental-science-and-technology), [Food](https://today.umd.edu/topic/food), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [College of Agriculture and Natural Resources](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-agriculture-and-natural-resources)