Focusing on food waste, the sixth annual European Week for Waste Reduction held by the European Commission aimed to facilitate over 9,000 actions by public authorities, private entities, schools and citizens looking for a greener and smarter way of life.

When it comes to leftovers, the idea is to fill bellies, not bins! There are a number of initiatives one can take to help move towards the so-called circular economy where products are already designed for reuse, repair, remanufacturing and recycling rather than being incinerated or buried in landfill and where waste becomes a resource.

Food waste is a serious problem, with the average UK household, for example, wasting close to 25 per cent of the food it purchases. In Malta, 22 per cent of the food purchased weekly is thrown away, according to figures released by the National

Statistics Office last year. It is estimated that food makes up about 55 per cent of domestic waste here.

Wasting food means wasting the natural resources used to produce it, like water, energy, soil; it’s an economic waste, in that money is spent for nothing.

In Malta, 22 per cent of the food purchased weekly is thrown away

Less than a quarter of the food wasted in Europe and the US would suffice to feed the estimated 842 million people who suffer from chronic hunger across the world.

This means that about one in eight people in the world are regularly not getting enough food to lead an active life while in Europe

we have nearly twice as much food as is required by the nutritional needs of our population.

A number of tools have been developed to raise awareness about the cost of food waste and what can be done about it. Tips are available on how to avoid food waste, cook with leftovers and learning to compost scraps. Households and enterprises can also try the food waste calculator, an innovative tool that shows the financial cost of food waste.

Cut the quantity

Dubbed Zero Waste Lunch, the initiatives is aimed at drastically reducing the amount of both food and packaging waste either landfilled or incinerated.

As it is difficult to completely avoid producing anything that gets send to landfill or incineration, the aim of the Zero Waste Lunch should be to reduce such quantity as much as possible.

Consumers are being urged to avoid buying unnecessary items for their lunch. Check your storing places and your fridge to see if you already have some food or leftovers that are suitable for including them in your lunch.

Buying in bulk avoids the generation of unnecessary packaging waste. You can always separate the products in individual servings later on and store them separately in reusable containers.

Reuse

Use a reusable bag for transportation. Choose reusable plastic containers such as lunch boxes to avoid plastic wrap and aluminium foil. In addition, you can also use reusable ice packs that will keep the perishables cool enough to keep them fresh.

If you need to carry liquids, thermos and reusable jugs are a great alternative to conventional plastic bottles.

Use metal silverware rather than disposable plastic utensils. If you already have plastic cutlery then wash and reuse them; avoid throwing them away.

Paper napkins are a one-use item that contributes to the rise in the amount of paper wasted. Cloth napkins can be easily washed and are completely reusable.

Leftovers

Keep all leftovers, store them properly and use them in future meals.

Food parts not suitable for consumption such as the core of the apples can always become compost.

Some food peelings can easily be converted into snacks, such as potato skins: scrub and dry them, toss them in Italian salad dressing and put them for around 20 minutes in the oven, until crisp and golden.

Diary

Most people are not aware about the amount of food they throw away. The idea behind keeping a food waste diary is to note down all the food one throws away in the course of the week, specifying the reasons why food became waste.

This will help one realise how much food is thrown away, what kind of food is it, why is it being thrown away, and how much money could have been saved if such food was not wasted.

Source: European Commission