No matter how fond we are of turkey Monte Cristo sandwiches or even turkey tamales, there comes a time when even the most beloved Thanksgiving leftovers—yes, even grandma's cornbread stuffing—must make their way into the garbage. For most Americans, that time will come sometime this week, if it hasn't already.

Thanksgiving remnants are just one drop in the American food-waste bucket, though. The amount of food we throw away year-round is adding up to be a bit of a problem. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, food scraps make up 20 percent of our landfills, and each year Americans toss 35 million tons of uneaten groceries. That's nearly enough to feed the population of California.

Restaurants and businesses are responsible for about half of food waste, and consumers for the other half, according to the EPA. All that garbage costs American households $124 billion each year.

So what are we most likely to dispose of? Fresh fruits and vegetables, which tend to give up the ghost rather quickly, are one major culprit. Americans throw away 31 percent of all tomatoes they buy, for example, or 21 tomatoes per year per person.

Here's a more detailed breakdown, via the USDA's food-loss estimates among consumers for 2010: