Greencap Eco-News  |  Issue 4  |  February 2022

Tackling Food Waste - from Farm to Plate

As part of Greencap's commitment to all things sustainable, we are pleased to send this regular communication where Greencap's own Eco-Sustainability Committee team members provide interesting facts, quick eco-tips, and recent environmental news.

This issue includes loads of interesting information on the economical and environmental impacts of food waste.

Did you know?
Food waste accounts for approximately 3% of Australia’s annual greenhouse gas emissions?

Flow on Environmental Effects

In Australia, it is estimated that over 5 million tonnes of food end up in landfill annually - which is enough to fill 9,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools! As this vast quantity of wasted food breaks down in landfill, it then releases methane into the atmosphere, contributing an approximate 3% of Australia's green house gas emissions and nearly 8% globally!

Apart form the impact on emissions, there is also a major impact on water use to consider. Generally 25% of water used in agriculture is used to grow food that is ultimately wasted, which in Australia equates to around 2,600 gigalitres of water (the volume of water in five Sydney Harbours) used to grow food that is ultimately wasted. 

It's not just water use, though either - the amount of land used to grow wasted food also covers in excess of 25 million hectares, a landmass larger than the state of Victoria. Just imagine the carbon capture benefit a verdant land mass that size would provide.

Economic Impacts

In Australia, the National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Study produced by Food Innovation Australia Limited reports that:

• Food waste costs the economy around $36.6 billion each year
• With 7.6 million tons of food across the supply and consumption chain wasted each year in Australia – this wastage equals about 312 kg per person, equivalent to around one in five bags of groceries or $2,000 to $2,500 per household per year

Initiatives include:

• Redistributing and diverting food that would otherwise be wasted to the food rescue sector.
• Increasing public awareness about the scale of the food waste problem and its negative impacts through education campaigns.
• Investment in agricultural efficiency and innovation, waste treatment infrastructure, and ways to create value from food waste.

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What can we do at a household level?

12 Easy Steps you can take today to ensure we can reduce our own household food waste:

2.     Store food correctly

• Correct storage can add days, weeks or even months to your produce!
  There are special swag bags (The Swag AU) you can purchase that makes storing easy. 
• Simple steps such as ensuring dry goods are stored in clear air-tight containers to avoid moisture and spoilage will increase your produce freshness for longer too.

3.     Separate foods

• Separating foods that produce more ethylene gas from those that don’t can reduce food spoilage. Ethylene promotes ripening in foods and could lead to spoilage.
• For example, produce such as bananas, avocados, tomatoes, cantaloupes, peaches, pears and green onions are best kept away from ethylene-sensitive produce like potatoes, apples, leafy greens, berries and peppers to avoid premature spoilage.

4.     Grow your own herbs

• Need a prompt to start your very own herb garden, here it is! 
• You can even propagate from chopped roots from your bought herbs from the supermarket. For herbs such as spring onion, coriander, parsley, thyme, just simply stick them in a pot of soil or even just water and watch them grow!

5.     Pickle and preserve

• Pickling, a type of preservation method using brine or vinegar, may have been used as far back as 2400 BC.
• Pickling, drying, canning, fermenting, freezing and curing are all methods you can use to make food last longer, thus reducing waste.
• Not only will these methods shrink your carbon footprint, but they will also save you money as well. What’s more, most preservation techniques are simple and can be fun.
• For example,  turning an excess of ripe apples into apple sauce, or pickling fresh carrots from the market will provide you with a delicious and long-lasting treat.

6.     Compost

• Turning food waste / reusing food scraps into energy for plants e.g. coffee grounds and the water used from washing your rice, fruits, and vegetables are both nutrient rich and will be great for your plants and garden.
• Consider investing in a small countertop composting systems to make composting easy. 

7.     Keep your fridge clutter-free

• Us e a FIFO  method to arrange your shopping in the fridge so that what was first in, will be first out!

8.     Eat the skin

• It should be no secret now that peels and the outer layer of fruits and veggies are rich in antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, minerals and nutrients of a produce is located in the outer layer of the skin. 
• Eating the skin is economical, nutritious and reduces your food waste impact!

9.     Save the seeds

• Plant them and grow your own veggies!
• Or eat them! Simply wash and dry the seeds (e.g. pumpkin), then toss them with a little olive oil and salt and toast them in the oven.

10.  Blend

• Are those fruits and veggies looking a bit sad? Not an issue, just throw them in your blender for a healthy smoothie.

11.  Make your own veggie stock

• Whipping up a homemade stock is an easy way to use excess food.
• Sauté vegetable scraps like the tops, stalks, peels and any other leftover bits with some olive oil or butter, then add water and let them simmer into an aromatic vegetable broth.

12.  Booster water

• One of the easiest ways to increase your water intake is to make it flavourful. Use peels from citrus fruits, apples and cucumbers to add a kick to your glass or bottle of water.
• Wilted herbs and berry tops also make excellent additions to your water bottle.
• After finishing your water, toss the leftover fruit or herbs into a smoothie for a zero-waste nutrition boost.

In addition to the numerous recycling initiatives (including the standard paper and plastic, to e-waste, batteries, bread tags and our closed-loop Terracycle recycling programs for asbestos single-use AIR cassettes and PPE hard hats) Greencap also recycles food waste from our offices nationally.

Waste is separated so Greencap team members can take home compost, coffee grounds and egg shells to use in their gardens / dispose of via council recycling programs.

Greencap - working towards making our world safer

​Further reading:

•  Tackling Australia’s food waste - DAWE

• FIAL - Reducing Australia's Food Waste by half by 2030

• Organic Waste Collection - Food Waste Bins For Business - Waster

• 20 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Food Waste (healthline.com)

• 10 ways to reduce food waste (and save money) | SBS Food

• Christmas Waste in Australia: Facts & Tips | National Storage