Food waste and the environment
For every tonne of food SecondBite collects, 0.9 tonnes of methane is spared from the atmosphere.
Redirecting surplus food to people in need is an excellent way to reduce food waste and help the environment.
Did you know?
- Australians are throwing out more than five billion worth of food annually (i).
- Dumping a kilogram of beef means wasting the 50,000 litres of water used in its production (ii).
- 47% of municipal waste in landfill is food and green organic waste (iii).
- Over three million tonnes of food is driven to landfill in Australia each year – from which the embedded water could supply Melbourne and Sydney for an entire year (iv).
- Food waste in Australian landfills is the second largest source of methane – a gas 23 times more destructive than C02 from cars (v).
Surplus produce occurs for many reasons:
- Blemishes/imperfections.
- Short shelf/sale life.
- Over-ordering/over-catering.
- Consumer demand for perfect produce.
The environment
In 2009, SecondBite collected over 700 tonnes of food that would otherwise have been driven to landfill. This equates to:
- Saving 630 tonnes of C02e (greenhouse gas emissions).
- Taking 157 cars off the road.
A Sustainability Fund Project conducted by Hyder Consulting released a report on 8 October 2008 on the environmental benefits associated with the redistribution of surplus and unwanted food. Looking at greenhouse gas benefits and water savings only, the study concluded that on average every one kilogram of food recovered, assuming the ideal case where it substitutes fully for the consumption of one kilogram elsewhere in Victoria, provides an approximate saving of 220 litres of water and 6.6 kilograms of C02 emissions. With over 700 tonnes of food saved from landfill last year, our environmental impact is HUGE! The full report is available here .
And what about SecondBite’s food waste...
Any food we collect that is not fit for redistribution for any reason goes to Carradene Farm in Melton or Bedford Farm in Bulla, and is fed to their farm animals. At Carradene Farm for example, the SecondBite food waste is sorted on arrival and then fed to the appropriate animals, e.g. parrots like the sweet fruit, whereas the poultry like greens. This complements our aim of sending zero waste to landfill.
SecondBite and biodegradable plastic bags
John Dee from "Do Something" organised the donation of 15,000 biodegradable bags, courtesy of Biograde Ltd. This has been a great boost to SecondBite’s ethic to be as environmentally responsible as possible, knowing that when we bag up fresh produce we’re not contributing to land waste.
(i) “What a Waste”, Australian Institute, (2009); (ii) www.foodwise.com.au; (iii) “Information Sheet 2 - Waste Facts”, EcoRecycle Victoria, (2005); (iv) “Gleaning from Gluttony: An Australian Youth Subculture Confronts the Ethics of Waste”, Australian Geographer, (2005); (v) www.foodwise.com.au