Farmington Hills is surveying residents, business owners and others on how they handle food waste to create a plan for reducing it and to gauge interest in a composting program.

Two surveys are available through July 25 at www.fhgov.com/FoodWasteSurvey. One is for residents and people who work or own property in the city. The other is for those connected to a food-related business.

The city said in a release that it is working with a local nonprofit, Make Food Not Waste, to create a blueprint for reducing waste.

“Food waste has significant environmental and economic impacts, which is why this project is an exciting next step in the city’s sustainability journey,” said Jacob Rushlow, director of the Farmington Hills Public Services Department, which oversees collection of trash, recyclables and yard waste.

“Reducing food waste is one thing we can do as a community to lower our greenhouse gas emissions and protect the environment for future generations in Farmington Hills,” he said.

Food waste is anything that is produced for humans but is not eaten, including leftovers, spoiled food or food scraps, such as peels and rinds, that are inedible.

According to the national data nonprofit ReFED, Michigan wastes more than 2 billion pounds of food each year. Households are the largest food waste generators and spend an average of $759 per person each year on food that wasn’t eaten.

The state of Michigan has a goal to cut food waste in half by 2030. Farmington Hills has a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2050.

For more information on Farmington Hills’ food waste reduction effort, call the Department of Public Services at 248-871-2530 and follow the city on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/CityofFarmingtonHills.

Wixom began accepting food waste — even meat, bones, grease and fats — as part of its yard waste pickup last year.