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From taxing the creators of waste, to repurposing leftovers from hotel restaurants and authorizing the sale of expired foods, here’s a look at some countries’ initiatives to help reduce food waste.
Food waste is a global problem. Each year, an estimated 1.3 billion tonnes of consumable foodstuffs are thought to be thrown away. And that figure could turn out to be twice as high, according to a study carried out by researchers in the Netherlands, published in February 2020 in The Lancet. Food waste is therefore a major issue — one that many countries are trying to tackle by introducing measures on a national scale.
In Seoul, consumers foot the bill for the food they waste
A champion when it comes to food recycling, South Korea is often cited as an example in the fight against food waste. In fact, this Asian country has a well-established system in place, where residents can incur extra taxes relating to the weight of their food waste.
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Each household has a smart card that they scan when discarding waste in a smart dumpster provided by local authorities. Once they have emptied their waste into the dumpster, the weight of that waste is displayed on a small screen. This is then added to the bill of the household linked to the card. This mandatory and paid-for measure encourages residents to throw away less.
In place since 2013, this system has apparently helped make budget savings of some €7 million in terms of waste collection in the city of Seoul, the South Korean capital. This government measure may seem radical, but it seems to be working.
