Trash Talk: Fresh Takes on Food Waste

Mar 13, 2026

Page Schult, CEO of Topanga, builds AI and reusable-container systems to cut kitchen waste. Matt Rogers, co-founder of Mill and Nest, designs consumer and waste tech for climate impact. They discuss AI-powered tracking, reusable packaging on campuses, food recycling technologies, partnerships with retailers, and scaling circular systems to reduce massive food loss.

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INSIGHT

Landfill Food Waste Produces Powerful Methane Harm

Food in landfills degrades anaerobically and produces methane, making disposal actively harmful for climate.
Preventing landfill disposal by creating alternative recycling pathways (animal feed, soil, energy) is therefore a high-impact climate strategy.

ADVICE

Use AI Cameras To Turn Waste Data Into Action

Use AI cameras in commercial waste streams to provide real-time visibility and prevent waste before it happens.
Mill's camera data flags over-ordered items (e.g., bananas, biscuits) so stores can adjust orders and production in future shifts.

INSIGHT

Make Climate Tools Better Not Just More Virtuous

Behavior change succeeds when the alternative is simply better, not merely more virtuous.
Matt Rogers cites Nest thermostats' 20% energy savings and says people adopt solutions that are objectively better experiences.

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Food loss and waste account for up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and cost $1 trillion annually, according to the United Nations. About a third of all food grown on the planet gets wasted, rather than eaten. In developing countries, waste usually occurs between the field and the store, due to poor infrastructure, lack of refrigeration, and broken supply chains. In rich countries, most waste happens after food reaches the store, where consumers don’t buy imperfect food – or buy too much and toss what they don’t get around to consuming. How much pollution, deforestation and starvation could be reduced if we got this problem under control? And how can new tech, including AI, be brought to bear on the problem?

Guests:

Matt Rogers, Co-Founder and CEO, Mill Industries; Co-Founder, Nest

Page Schult, CEO, Topanga

Kayla Abe, Co-Owner, Shuggie’s

David Murphy, Co-Owner and Chef, Shuggie’s

For show notes, related links, and episode transcript, visit climateone.org/podcasts.

Highlights:

00:00 – Intro

04:30 – Matt Rogers on surviving Hurricane Andrews and his climate journey

06:30 – On the climate impact of HVAC and the creation of Nest thermostat

08:30 – On creating Mill food recycler and addressing food waste

13:45 – Partnership with Whole Food to recycle food waste and feed it back to chickens

17:00 – On AI as a tool for climate solutions

19:30 – Clean tech in Silicon Valley

23:00 – Matt Rogers shares his views on advocacy, philanthropy and impact investing

30:00 – Shuggie’s restaurant sources ingredients that would otherwise be wasted

37:00 – David Murphy makes the case for sustainable food and upcycled ingredients

40:00 – Page Schult on global impact of food waste

44:00 – Topanga’s work providing reusable food containers for college campuses

52:30 – Thinking about it circularity as systems change

54:00 – Role of AI in reducing food waste in commercial kitchens

58:00 – Climate One More Thing

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