Update on Zero Waste, Food waste, E-waste & Recycling

Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA) called for tenders to undertake a study on the collection, recycling and management of electrical and electronic waste (e-waste), after previously mounting an initiative to focus on the food waste problem. A study reported in August showed nine out of 10 people in the island state are concerned about food waste. Food waste is rearing its ugly head in Europe and America too.
While Singapore sets out in its Sustainable Singapore Roadmap to be a zero waste society, the very active social enterpriser Eugene Tay has set up Zero Waste SG as a new not-for-profit and non-governmental organisation. It is dedicated to help Singapore eliminate the concept of waste, and accelerate the shift towards zero waste and the circular economy. It started as a website in 2008 providing tips and resources on waste minimisation and recycling, and is officially registered as a non-governmental organisation on 13 Jul 2015. See more at: www.zerowastesg.com
NEA calls for tender to conduct study on electrical, electronic waste
Today Newspaper 19 September 2015
SINGAPORE — The National Environment Agency (NEA) yesterday called for a tender to conduct a study on the collection, recycling and management of electrical and electronic waste (e-waste), amid the increasing use of electronic devices.
The NEA will use the study findings to consider a system for collecting and recycling e-waste. The study should include a survey of the e-waste collection and recycling value chain, including the final treatment and disposal.
Using the results of the survey, the successful bidder should propose cost-effective and efficient systems for the collection, recycling and management of e-waste, the NEA added.
The tender, which opened yesterday, closes at 4pm on Nov 5. The study is expected to start in December and end in the fourth-quarter of next year.
Currently, Singapore generates about 60,000 tonnes of e-waste from households and industrial and commercial sources. The amount of e-waste is growing as technology advances, resulting in faster product replacement, said the NEA.
“E-waste may contain valuable and scarce materials, but also small amounts of hazardous substances that may pose pollution and health concerns if not properly disposed of,” the NEA said. CHANNEL NEWSASIA
Source: http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/nea-calls-tender-conduct-study-electrical-electronic-waste
WRI Says Reducing Food Waste Will Help Food Security, Natural Resources, and the Economy
WRI statement (16 September 2015):
Today, the United States Department of Agriculture and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the country’s first-ever goal for reducing food waste. The goal calls for a target of reducing food waste by 50% by 2030.
Food waste causes negative social, economic, and environmental impacts. WRI serves the secretariat for the Food Loss & Waste Protocol, a multi-stakeholder effort to develop the global accounting and reporting standard for quantifying food loss and waste.
Following is a statement from Craig Hanson, Global Director of Food, Forests and Water, World Resource Institute:
“The first ever U.S. national goal on food waste reduction will bring multiple benefits for food security, natural resources, and the economy.
“The USDA and EPA are showing leadership by announcing a national goal that will ensure more food gets from the farm to the fork and will save consumers money. The new U.S. national goal is also consistent with Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 that focuses on food loss and waste reduction.”
Source: http://www.wri.org/blog/2014/10/reducing-food-loss-and-waste-overlooked-strategy-creating-sustainable-food-system

Britain wastes more food than any other European country
The UK wastes more food than any other country in Europe, a new study has revealed
By Gregory Walton in the Daily Telegraph (12 August 2015):
Britain wastes more food than any other country in Europe, with UK households throwing away 13lbs of food weekly, it can be revealed.
For every one of the UK’s 64 million citizens, the equivalent of a tin of baked beans is thrown away every day.
Each year, 22 million tonnes of food is wasted in the European Union, according to a new study, of which 80 per cent is avoidable.
British households have been found to squander £12 billion on avoidable waste every year – the equivalent of £480 per household.
More than 2 million tonnes of food is wasted by consumers preparing too much, while 3 million tonnes is thrown away when it passes its sell by date.
A large proportion of the food was found to be vegetables, fruit, and cereals, partly due to their short shelf-life.
However wasted meat was found to have a far greater environmental impact the fruit and vegetable waste.
“Meat production uses much more resources in the first place, so even a little bit of waste can have a big effect in terms of lost resources,” said lead scientist Dr Davy Vanham, from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC).
The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, looked at data from six European countries – the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Germany and Romania – to estimate levels of food waste in the EU.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11797206/Britain-wastes-more-food-than-any-other-European-country.html
Most people here concerned about food waste: Poll
They say F&B firms should give near-expiry or unsold food to needy or sell it at discount
Feng Zengkun in Straits Times 11 August 2015
Nine out of 10 people here are concerned about Singapore’s food waste, a new survey has found.
The majority also want food and beverage (F&B) companies here to donate their unsold and near-expiry food that is safe to eat to the needy or sell it at a discount.
Students from the National University of Singapore’s Chua Thian Poh Community Leadership Programme, working with new non-profit group Zero Waste SG, conducted the online survey from February to April this year.
It was completed by about 430 people aged between 16 and 72 with monthly household incomes ranging from less than $3,000 to more than $12,000.
More than nine in 10 said F&B companies here need to do more to reduce food waste. Last year, Singapore threw away 788,600 tonnes of food, of which only about 13 per cent was recycled.
BE PROACTIVE
One of the things (companies) can do immediately is to donate unsold food to charities such as Food Bank and Food from the Heart.”
The discarded food was a slight improvement over 2013′s 796,000 tonnes, but still a sharp increase from the 703,200 tonnes in 2012.
The survey respondents also wanted to know more about how brands such as NTUC FairPrice, BreadTalk, McDonald’s and Cold Storage reduce their food waste.
Many said they would support a company that did its part to cut down on waste. About eight in 10 would help publicise such efforts, while seven in 10 would buy more of the company’s food or visit its outlets more often if it did this.
Zero Waste SG executive director Eugene Tay said: “Food and beverage companies should be proactive in addressing consumers’ interest and reduce food wastage.
“One of the things they can do immediately is to donate unsold food to charities such as Food Bank and Food from the Heart.”
NTUC FairPrice said that at its FairPrice Xtra outlets, when fruits and vegetables are left unsold due to blemishes, the supermarket chain cuts them into smaller pieces or trims them, then repackages and sells them at lower prices.
It also marks down the prices of seafood and chilled meats at all stores after they have been displayed for a day. It donates unsold but edible canned food to the community through Food from the Heart, and is exploring turning food waste into compost.
Supermarket chain Sheng Siong also sells fresh food with blemishes at a discount and uses food near expiry as ingredients in cooked meals for its staff, among other measures. A spokesman said that Sheng Siong has introduced more pre-packed fruits and food to prevent damage due to people touching and handling them: “For example, instead of bagging grapes, we now try to pack them in ventilated, transparent boxes.”
McDonald’s collects its used cooking oil and sells it to a recycling company to be made into soap and biodiesel. A spokesman said: “To minimise wastage, we adopt a ‘cook in smaller quantities but cook more often’ approach.”
Source: http://www.savefoodcutwaste.com/2015/08/12/most-people-here-concerned-about-food-waste-poll-news/