waste is wealth. food waste food waste is composed of organics that can decompose naturally. food...

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Waste is Wealth

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Waste is Wealth

Food Waste

• Food waste is composed of organics that can decompose naturally.

• Food waste comes from the farm , table or fridge.• Food waste is waste of money as it adds to landfill

problem. Also leads to waste of energy , land and water used to produce food in the first place.

• Money, labour, finite resources goes into production , processing , packaging and transportation and waste of food has a direct impact on these factors.

Sources of food waste

Source

Catering Industry Supermarkets Household

Fast food / takeaways, hotels, restaurant, canteens , hospitals and prisons.

This means that 50% of food is wasted.

Impact of Food Waste

Economical

SocialEnvironment

Impact of food waste

• Economical : Over 85% of food in UAE is imported this increases the price of food. The cost of disposing food waste in landfills is increasing every day.

• Environment : The landfills are the second largest emitter of methane a poisonous gas.

• Social: Currently there are approximately 7 billion people in this world and when we waste our food we must remember that 1 in every 7 people go to bed hungry.

Wasting finite resources have negative results .

• What are the negative results ?1. The number of trash bags used to throw food waste is not

bio gradable.2. The diesel fueled garbage trucks emit various air

pollutants while transporting waste to landfills.3. The landfills produce awful odors attracting insects, rats

and harmful bacteria.4. The decomposed food in the landfills produces methane

which is harmful to the environment.5. Rotting food also contributes to leachate an acidic liquid

residue that can seep into and contaminate ground water.

Landfills

• In Dubai there are currently 2 landfills:• Al Quasis and Jebel Ali .• Landfills are hidden from public view but are like

unexploded bombs which produce toxic, dangerous and climate change gasses like methane and carbon dioxide.

• The old Warqa landfill consisting of construction waste was closed down in 2006 . The new and improved Dubai Zoo called Safari Dubai will be built on this site.

• Every Dubai resident sends 2.8 kgs of waste to the landfill everyday.

• Half of Al Quasis landfill has already reached its height limit . In less than 7 years it would reach its full capacity.

• The other landfill in Jebel Ali will soon be closed.

How to reduce food waste (domestic)?

Food Recovery Hierarchy

Pioneers in creating a Change

• Gramo Restaurant part of the Lootah Hotel management group discourages food waste by implementing a method “pay-by-weight”.

• Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort and Spa has installed a composting machine that converts organic waste into compost. The Compost in turn is used to fertilize the hotels garden, which in turn is used to grow organic vegetables to be used by their kitchen.

• Al Maha Desert Resort Dubai incorporates uneaten items into later meals. Eg: serving breakfast pastries as lunch time desserts.

• Insink Erator manufactures food waste disposers which can be used for domestic household purposes. This Disposer is about the size of a bucket and fits under the sink

• It uses only 1 percent of total household water consumption and cost Dhs 5 on electricity per year.

• This has been approved by Masdar.

• Hefth-al- Ne’ma meaning Saving Grace, is part of UAE Red Crescent. It was set up in 2004 in Abu Dhabi. This organization collects leftovers from large gatherings such as weddings , banquets , iftars and distributes food that is safe to eat . Last year they distributed more than 24,000 hot meals to 1000 families and 10,000 low income labourers.

• Masdar the city of the future aims at zero carbon, zero waste local and sustainable food, sustainable water and sustainable transport.

• On an average household waste is 2.8kgs , the aim of Masdar is to reduce it to 1.8kgs by minimizing waste and recovering ,recycling the waste.

• Beeah, the environmental and waste management company in Sharjah aims at zero waste to landfill by 2015.

1. Paper, News Paper, Cardboard2. Plastic, bottles and cans3. General Waste

• Al Qasr Dubai is the first hotel that uses fruits , vegetable peels and scraps about 70kgs every day into plant food using composting method.

• Taste Initiative manages food waste by :1. Designing Menu by having common products

between different food items.2. Cutting down size of the meal.3. Opting for local produce wherever possible4. Kitchen management plans stock

requirement every 3 days .

Action plan for schools

Creating awareness on food waste and importance of separating dry waste from wet waste.As per the Dubai Muncipality plans to have two coloured bins are to be used , black bins for wet waste and green for dry waste.

Dry Waste: Anything man-made or manufactured

Wet Waste: Any organic component that decomposes

Dry waste to be recycled. Wet waste to be composted

What is composting?

• Composting is a natural process that turns organic material into a dark rich substance . This substance , called compost or humus, is a wonderful conditioner for your soil.

Why do we have to compost?• Food waste ends in landfills which produces methane which is 21 times

more harmful than carbon dioxide.• Eg: Take milk in two separate glasses• In 1 glass add a tea spoon of yogurt • Leave them outside between 4 to 6 hours. • When you return you will notice that the glass of milk to which yogurt was

added has turned into yogurt that can be consumed • The other glass of milk is contaminated and cannot be used.• In case of the 1st glass of milk to which yogurt was added yeast acted like a

good bacteria and converted it into yogurt.• In case of the 2nd glass of milk which was exposed to harmful bacteria was

contaminated.• The same logic applies to landfills and compost bins. Compost bins are like

the 1st glass of milk and landfills as the 2nd glass of milk.

• Food waste which ends up in landfills is exposed to climatic conditions which in turn produces methane a harmful gas and the leachate from the landfills contaminate to the sea water there by destroying the sea creatures .

• On the other hand food waste in compost bins is fermented and breaks down into a valuable compost that can be used as a fertilizer.

Which do you think is better ?

OR

Suggestions for schools

1. Children should have break before lunch.2. Organize “No waste food day” once a can month,

move it to weekly and slowly daily.3. Compost the organic waste and use the fertilizer for

greening the school.4. Grow organic vegetables by using the compost as a

fertilizer.5. The vegetables can be used in the schools canteen.6. Organize competitions between classes as to bring

out innovative ideas to decorate the bins.

Thank You

• http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/20454383/#editor

• We can all make this change possible if we work together as a community to reduce and reuse food waste.