Do You Know Just How Much Food is Actually Wasted in Australia?

July 14, 2017

The figures are astronomical. Don’t believe us? See for yourself!

skip bins perth *Information for this infographics was sourced from Foodwise and data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

And that’s just household food. If you add commercial food wastage to this, the figures are even more troublesome!

For instance, did you know that an estimated 20-40% of fruit and vegetables are rejected before they even reach the shops? Then you’ve got all of the produce that isn’t sold, and this wastage isn’t just limited to fruit and vegetables, it also includes things like dairy products, bakery goods and even pre-packaged foods.

If you watched the ABC’s recent mini-series, War on Waste you would know that Australians are starting to pick-up on our supermarkets’ wasteful habits. Not only is this a waste of money and valuable resources, it’s also bad for the environment. When food waste ends up in landfills, as it rots, it produces copious amounts of methane, which is 25 times more potent than the carbon pollution that comes out of your car exhaust.

Plus, when food is thrown out, we’re also wasting the water, fuel and resources it took to get the food from the paddock to your plate!

What’s Being Done to Solve our Food Waste Problem?

Thankfully, resourceful everyday Australians and businesses are coming up with solutions that are seeing food waste recycled and transformed into valuable resources.

Sydney Markets is an excellent example of how unwanted fresh produce is being put to good use. The market, located in Sydney’s west takes leftover fresh produce to Green Point, where the organic mush is re-purposed into useable energy.

Within minutes, the plant can decompose what would take up to 30 years in landfill, minus the production of the harmful methane that is produced in landfills. From here, roughly 8,000-9,000 megawatts of energy is exported each year, which is enough to power between 1,500-3,200 households. They even make use of the sludge that is left over by turning it into organic fertiliser.

Some other food waste innovations include freeze-dried food and recycled gelato, which has seen Sweeter Banana Cooperative, which is based right here in Western Australia, reduce their food wastage by up to 90%!

If you want to do your part in reducing the amount of food that ends up in landfill, talk to Perth Bin Hire about our responsible waste management practices in Perth.