Food Waste Action Week: plan for what you buy!

Did you know that in Canada, 1.3 million apples are wasted every day? Food waste not only hurts your wallet, it also has a significant negative environmental impact.  

Plan, use everything, preserve and compost

• PLAN your purchases and meals. Take stock of what you have to assess your real needs and buy your food according to the size and quantity you’ll need.
  • Anti-waste food purchases via platforms such as Too Good To Go and Food Hero, which offer the opportunity to buy food products destined for disposal at reduced prices from participating retailers, are now eligible to the Green Grant program!
• USE EVERYTHING. Cut and wash food products ahead of time, use all parts of the food when cooking, prepare fridge clean-out recipes, and freeze leftovers for later. If you have too much, share with friends and family!
• PRESERVE your food properly. Place food items in the right place in your fridge or pantry, and in the right type of container, to maximize their freshness and shelf life. Remember, the “best before” date doesn’t mean “bad after.”
  • Did you know that climacteric fruits, such as bananas and apples, continue to ripen after harvest, releasing a gas that accelerates the decay of other non-climacteric fruits, such as peppers and limes?
• Available for free to everyone, the green bin allows you to collect food waste for it to be composted. But don’t forget that composting is good, but reducing is better, because even composting can be a source of food waste!

Facts about food waste

• Worldwide, 1/3 of all food produced is lost or thrown away—around 1.3 billion tonnes a year. Food that is produced but not consumed represents almost 30% of the world’s agricultural land, more than the total surface area of Canada and India combined, and requires around 1/4 of all the water used in agriculture each year.
• In Canada, 63% of food thrown away could have been consumed. Food waste costs households an average of $1300 per year.
• In Quebec, 1.2 million tonnes of edible food is lost or wasted every year, producing 3.6 million tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These emissions represent 4% of the province’s total emissions, more than the emissions of the sea, air and rail transport sectors combined.

To find out more

• Visit Recyc-Québec’s page on food waste prevention
• Visit Love food hate waste
• Watch the Food Fight program clips
• Do you work in the food service industry? La Tablée des Chefs’ food recovery program redistributes food to people in need.