There is still waste involved into putting edible food in the compost. Growing, packaging, and transporting food all consume resources that go to waste if the food is not eaten.
Are unpopped popcorn kernels a significant source of uneaten food? Debatable.
This may or may not be relevant to you or other’s situations but Trevor Noah had some great advice: watch the news no more than once, maybe twice a week. That’s all you really need to stay informed. More than that is just doom scrolling endless speculation pieces. This is exhausting.
Use this energy to get involved locally. You can’t personally affect things in Washington (and accept this), but you can have an effect locally.