SAVE FOOD: Initiative mondiale de réduction des pertes et du gaspillage alimentaires

Food waste at the European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR)

©EWWR
14 Nov 2017

The European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR) is an initiative that promotes the implementation of awareness-raising actions for sustainable resource and waste management. Funded by European Commission’s LIFE+ Programme, EWWR 2017 will be convened during the period 18 to 26 November.

The main objectives of the event are to promote waste reduction, product reuse and material recycling strategies and policies, to highlight the accomplishments of EWWR participants and to mobilise European citizens for action on waste reduction. EWWR targets a wide range of audiences, including public authorities, private companies, civil society as well as citizens themselves, to become involved in waste reduction.

During the last four installations, 43 countries, 57 coordinators, and 18.2 million people have participated in the dedicated events of the Week. The organizers estimate that 48 965 actions have taken place and 47 000 tonnes of waste has been prevented per edition.

This year EWWR’s themes include the “3Rs”: Reduce waste, Reuse products, Recycle material, namely the three areas that are central to the waste hierarchy and represent the most efficient waste management options.

Regarding food waste reduction, the EWWR recommends four key actions to be implemented at household level:

(I) Cook! Avoid pre-packaged food
(II) Learn how to store food properly
(III) Buy in bulk and prefer loose items
(IV) Try a zero-waste meal: same taste, less waste.

The United Kingdom’s ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ programme submitted a campaign aiming to reduce food waste by adopting freezing practices to 2017’s EWWR. The campaign promotes freezing as an efficient way of minimising food waste while helping to tackle the stigma and uncertainty around frozen food. Other proposals can be submitted through the EWWR website. Register your actions to reduce waste here.