More than half of household waste is food, so a food waste prevention programme will be introduced, Environment Minister Leo Brincat has said.
Preventing and reducing food waste will be at the forefront of the campaign to be launched soon, Mr Brincat said at a national conference on the subject organised by the National Council of Women over the weekend.
It is estimated that food makes up around 55 per cent of domestic waste in Malta. More than 90 million tons of food are wasted in Europe every year.
Mr Brincat said this programme was urgently needed and the introduction of separate collection of organic waste needed to be speeded up. Composting was also to be encouraged, he added.
Food is lost or wasted throughout the supply chain, from initial agricultural production down to final household consumption.
This leads to unnecessary loss of water, energy, fertiliser and land.
Separate collections of organic waste need introducing soon
The Environment Minister said the Food Waste Working Group established last June has prepared a report showing that food waste is generated across a wide variety of sectors including households, hotels, kiosks, restaurants, canteens and catering companies. He said everyone has to contribute to reducing food waste.
This can be done through proper planning when shopping, food freezing and avoiding serving large portions.
He also said attention must be paid to the marketing campaigns of food chains and special offers that target children’s food consumption.
“All this makes it clear that an awareness raising campaign is needed that targets and addresses different segments of society,” Mr Brincat said.
According to estimates by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the per capita food waste by consumers in Europe and North America is 95 to 115 kilograms per year.