News
Web seminar tackles food waste issues in Wales
23 March 2009
An online resource aimed at reducing the estimated 600,000 tonnes of food waste produced every year in Wales has been launched today.
The Dealing with Food Waste ‘webinar’ – an online seminar accessed via the internet – has been produced by Envirowise and targets the issue of food waste in schools, colleges and universities and its environmental and financial cost. The webinar forms part of the Public Sector Waste Minimisation Campaign, which is managed by Envirowise.
Food waste poses a significant problem in Wales as it is a drain on budgets and has environmental impact as much of it is disposed of in landfill sites.
The webinar focuses attention on waste within the kitchens of educational establishments and provides practical information on ways to reduce it. This includes making use of composting, anaerobic digestion and advanced thermal technologies as ways of disposing of the waste in an environmentally sound way.
And the webinar also looks at some of the consequences of not dealing with waste responsibly. This can include fat, oil and grease which has been disposed of down the sinks solidifying in drains and sewers and causing blockages.
Ann Stevenson, Envirowise public sector programme director explained that the webinar will prove to be a vital tool in helping catering managers to identify areas where food waste is generated. Ann said, “People in catering departments may not always realise they have a food waste issue, or if they do then they may not be sure what to do about it. The webinar will help address both of these issues.
“There are a number of simple steps that can be taken to reduce food waste. These include accurate estimation of quantities needed and imaginative ways of reusing unsold food, where possible. Ignoring the issue and failing to address it comes with high financial and environmental price tag.
The webinar has also been endorsed by Jane Davidson, Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing who said:
“Using the web is an important way to spread the message that schools and colleges have a role in helping us reduce the amount of food we send to landfill.
“The gases generated by the food breaking down pollute our atmosphere which then has a detrimental effect on our environment and climate.
“It is important that action is taken to change this and this initiative is a good start. We simply cannot continue to waste money and damage our environment by throwing unused food it into the ground.”
The webinar will be available to view on the Envirowise website and features contributions from various organisations. This includes Swansea University which has recently started working with Envirowise on a pilot study to look at ways it can reduce food waste and effectively deal with any it does generate.
Mark Durdin, energy and environmental engineer at Swansea University said: “We’re going to be revisiting all our processes, from staff training through to recycling and composting. This will enable us to identify areas where changes need to be made and where best practice procedures can be implemented.”
The Public Sector Waste Minimisation campaign is a Welsh Assembly Government funded project promoting waste reduction and greater environmental efficiency in public sector organisations.
To view the webinar log on to – http://walespublicsector.envirowise.gov.uk/cms/dealing-with-food-waste-webinar?stage=Live <http://walespublicsector.envirowise.gov.uk/cms/dealing-with-food-waste-webinar?stage=Live>
