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Food Waste

One of the large contributors to climate change is waste, whether it’s wasted energy, wasted water, wasted food, or even single-use plastic, it’s a sign of our throw-away society.

We are going to look at food waste. Globally, food systems account for 30 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions, a truly astonishing amount that we can all help to reduce. Science is telling us our food production is putting extreme pressure on the planet. For decades scientists have said our way of living is unsustainable and that we are fuelling the three planetary crises: climate change, pollution and waste, plus nature and biodiversity loss.

According to WRAP, a British charity, UK households waste 70 per cent of all edible food, about 4.5 million tonnes of food a year; an incredible amount, given some people must go to food banks for their food.

In 2015 the United Nations General Assembly set up a series of Sustainable Development Goals. One goal is to half global food loss and waste by 2030. Surprisingly, considering the UK wastes 4.5 million tonnes, it is the first country to get more than halfway in achieving this goal, earning champion status. However, there is a long way to go to reduce our food waste further while 2030 isn’t that far away.

Personally, in an attempt to reduce our carbon footprint, we grow some of our fruit and vegetables. When you realise how much work and care goes into producing them, you make sure nothing is wasted. My wife is a master at not allowing anything to go to waste, even an over ripe banana gets turned into a banana cake and the inevitable waste from the vegetable preparation gets composted. We practice organic and No Dig in the vegetable garden to keep the carbon in the soil and this has improved its fertility and water retention. The other big bonus when you grow your own fruit and veg is that it’s not wrapped in single-use plastic.

I realise that not everybody has the space and time to grow their own but there are still actions that can be taken to reduce waste. For instance, you can plan the week’s meals and thus avoid overbuying food that will be thrown away. Buy local to reduce food miles and buy seasonal to prevent food traveling from across the world.

I welcome Cornwall Council’s latest waste collection changes to collect food waste. This will be recycled in an anaerobic digestion plant to make farm fertiliser, as well as energy to power communities. Cornwall Council says the current black bin bag contains 35% food waste, 22% material that should have been recycled, and 43% that’s actual rubbish. This initiative should encourage people to recycle more. Cornwall Council states that these changes will cut Cornwall’s carbon emissions by nearly 18,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, which is the amount that a car would produce driving around the world 2,547 times.

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