Did you know?
- About one-third of the food produced in the world goes uneaten each year,
- Of this, more than half a billion tonnes of food waste comes from households,
- Citizen food waste is an issue across the globe, and it will take a concerted and collaborative effort if we’re to be successful in reducing it.
Source: Love Food Hate Waste International | WRAP
At WCC we work hard to prevent our food waste from going to landfill, most kitchens and breakrooms have a bucket or caddy to collect compostable fruits and veggies and we compost them in the vermi composting system here on campus. You can learn more about that here Earth Day Compost Demo (yuja.com). If you want to start a compost collection in your area e-mail [email protected].
However, composting is not the only answer to food waste management as it is preferable not to produce waste food in the first place. The EPA Wasted Food Scale below shows that the first priority is to prevent waste. Composting though beneficial, should be the action you take after you have first prevented waste, donated food, or fed animals.
Source: Wasted Food Scale | US EPA
As this week focuses on prevention (rather than disposal methods) take a look at the things you can do below to prevent food waste, and set yourself a goal to achieve one or two, or more if you can!
- Buy loose fruits and veggies - Buy your fruits and veggies loose, buying only the quantity you need rather than in a bulk prepacked bag or container.
- Choose what you’ll use - Right size your recipes so you are only cooking what you will eat, meal plan using an app that will build you a grocery list, or write a shopping list
- Taste it don’t waste it - If you do have leftovers eat them for lunch the next day, freeze them or have a “leftover” night to finish up food in the fridge. If you’re not sure how to safely freeze food watch here
- Check what produce you already have in the fridge before going grocery shopping so you don’t buy items you don’t need
- Make sure your refrigerator is set to the correct temperature so food lasts as long as possible
- If you bring left overs home from a restaurant make sure you plan to eat them.
- Be aware of sell by dates on your canned and packaged foods so they don’t expire, also be aware of the difference between a “Sell by” date, ‘Best Before” date and a “Use By” date.
If you have any questions contact [email protected].
Tags: Recycling