Product category:
Solid Waste Disposal and Land Pollution
News Release from: IChemE (Institution of Chemical Engineers) | Subject: Food waste
Edited by the Processingtalk Editorial
Team on 15 July 2008
"Learn lessons from industry to reduce
food waste"
Getting a new pet, buying in bulk and better forward-planning are just three possible answers to Britain's wasteful attitude towards food, say experts at the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE)
Prime Minister, Gordon Brown said that 'unnecessary' food purchases are contributing to rising grocery prices with the UK wasting 4m tonnes of food every year, adding GBP420 to a family's annual shopping bill The analysis behind this conclusion showed that potatoes top the waste list with an estimated 359,000 tonnes discarded every year, followed by 328,000 tonnes of bread and 190,000 tonnes of apples
This article was originally published on Processingtalk on 14 May 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Chemical engineers offer guidance on food waste
IChemE has published its guide to reducing household waste, after published figures revealed that families typically throw away around GBP610 worth of food every year*
Govt warned: Take action now or face energy crisis
MPs were warned that the UK could face catastrophic energy shortages unless 'urgent action' is taken to encourage more school leavers to study science and engineering subjects at University
The UK sends more rubbish to landfill than any other nation and is currently around only 8 years away from running out of space.
But IChemE Director of Policy, Andrew Furlong says that families can learn lessons from the chemical engineering community, eliminating waste and saving money: "Chemical Engineers are developing new processes that apply the 'reduce, reuse and recycle' philosophy in industry but we must also ensure the same mantra is being used in our homes.
"Our top ten tips should be pinned to every household fridge in the country," Furlong added.
Further reading
"Pull together or the lights are going out"
The UK Government and industry has been warned to pull together or face a return to the middle-ages, following the publication of the Government's Renewable Energy Strategy
No single-source solution to energy shortages
Chemical Engineers have warned Government policymakers that there is no single solution to the UK's looming energy crisis, and this has been endorsed by the relevant IUSS committee
The IChemE Top 10 Tips are as follows.
1) Plan ahead: Buy what you know you'll use during the weekly shop instead of buying on impulse - you'll end up throwing less away.
2) Heat and shrink: Plastic bottles or containers can be shrunk using leftover boiling water from your kettle.
3) Compost it: The compost bin acts as a bio-reactor.
The process that takes place inside turns organic waste such as spud peelings, teabags, eggshells, and even dust from your Hoover, into compost for your plants.
4) Recharge your batteries: Discarded batteries contain cadmium, mercury and other toxic metals.
Rechargeable batteries are much greener - and cheaper in the long term.
5) Go local: Try to shop as locally as possible and look for products with minimal packaging.
6) Scale up: Buying non-perishable goods in bulk will save on packaging and money in the long term.
7) Carry on recycling: Reuse your supermarket carrier bags.
8) Make the polluter pay: Remove unnecessary packaging and leave it at the checkout - suppliers will soon get the message.
9) Get a pet: Even domestic animals are nature's own waste disposal units.
Just make sure that your leftovers are suitable for animal consumption.
10) Buy quality, not quantity: Quality products are more likely to last longer therefore you'll throw them out less often.
And don't dump it, freecycle it at www.freecycle.org.
To download the factsheet go to the toptips section on the website.
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