The Impact Of Food Waste

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Introduction

Food waste has become a serious issue in our society in the last years that affects "poor and rich countries" equally and according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) almost half of all produced food will never be consumed. (Sloan et al, 2012) By wasting food we also waste the "time and energy" that we have used to produce the food and as well our "natural resources" and the "limited available agricultural land" will be used up which could be handled in a much better and sustainable way. (Donnellan, 2006, Stuart, 2009, p. xvi) Additionally, waste has a strong financial impact and affects the environment including the overall greenhouse gas emission. (Stuart, 2009)

The hospitality industry in the UK, especially the food service industry, needs to face the food waste problem. Although, the industry is already aware of the waste problem and many restaurants try to minimize their amount of waste and according to WRAP (2011) still "600,000 tons of food a year" will be discarded and a total waste of more than "3.4 million tonnes" was produced by the hospitality industry in 2009. (WRAP, 2011, p.3).

Discussion

Four major player are forming the "food value chain" (Marthinsen et al, 2012, p.45) that are mainly involved in the food wasting process, "the food producers, the hospitality sector, the wholesale & retail sector and private households". (Marthinsen et al, 2012, p.45) According to "a study by the waste company Biffa (…) a third to a half of British fruit and vegetables grown for supermarkets are rejected because of tight specifications regarding size, blemishes and appearance." (Stuart, 2009, p.102) This action shows the high power that customers have over supermarkets which, in the end, forces farmers to throw away almost half of their harvest. Likewise, supermarkets highly influence the households by offering "buy one – get one free" (Planet Retail, 2011, p.5) packages and therefore tempt customers to buy food that they do not necessarily need and will consume. The Waste & Resource Action Programme (WRAP) reported that "8.3 million tonnes per year of food and drink waste is generated by households in the UK from which 5.3 million tonnes per year is avoidable". (WRAP, 2009, pp. 4-5)

There are three main types of waste that our society currently has to deal with. "The household/domestic waste, the business waste and the hazardous & controlled waste" (Keep Britain Tidy, n.d.) The "domestic waste" is the waste that households produce and that goes to the waste disposal. "Business waste" is the waste that is produced by any kind of industry and finally the "hazardous & controlled waste" which is dangerous and can injure humans and therefore needs to be removed very carefully. (Keep Britain Tidy, n.d. ; Donnellan, 2006) Businesses must "hold a licence to have their waste removed" (Keep Britain Tidy, n.d.) otherwise they will be punished.

A large amount of the household and business waste will either be "burried in landfill sites" (Stuart, 2009, p. xx) or will be incinerated and the energy that will be generated during the burning process will be used but both methods have a negative effect on the environment. (Donnellan, 2006) The central issue of landfill is that "organic waste converts into methane", a "greenhouse gas that is twenty-one times more potent than carbon dioxide."(Stuart, 2006, p.xx) According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) more than 64 per cent of all waste was disposed of into landfill sites. (Firth, 2008) Since landfill is an inexpensive method to dispose waste it is the most common method in the United Kingdom and as a consequence, all "industrialized countries are running out of suitable sites due to existing sites are filling up fast". (Firth, 2008, p.7) Land close to the city is too expensive therefore the best option for big cities is to fall back on land located outside of the city although "higher transport costs" need to be accepted. (Firth, 2008, p.7) As well, incineration "causes problems (…) when waste is burnt. Gases from incineration may cause air pollution and contribute to acid rain, while the ash from incinerators may contain heavy metals and other toxins. Exposure to hazardous wastes, particularly when they are burned, can cause various other diseases including cancers." (Sloan, 2012, p. 6)

The hospitality industry in the UK is currently trying to minimize their amount of food waste by adopting the three Rs’ of rubbish. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2000, p.4) A success in the minimization of food waste can be seen but still fifty per cent of their total waste ends in landfill sites without being used or recycled. WRAP reports (2009) that in 2009 the hospitality industry has produced "3.4 million tonnes of waste in total from which only 1.6 million tonnes (47%) was recycled, reused or composted and nearly 1.5 (43%) million tonnes (…) went for disposal, mainly to landfill". (WRAP, 2009, p.3) In fact, UK restaurants waste almost 600,000 tons of food each year that goes to landfill sites whereof "two-thirds or 400,000 tonnes could have been eaten" or reused. (Sloan et al, 2012, p. n.a.) Why

According to Sloan et al (2012) food waste in the food service industries is separated into 3 types. The "Pre - consumer waste, the post – consumer waste and the packaging waste"

"Pre – and post-consumer food waste, packaging, and operating supplies. Pre – consumer waste is defined as being all the trimmings, spoiled food and other products