FOOD WASTE
FOOD WASTE
How do you think food waste can harm the environment?
How do you think food waste can harm the environment?
Unfortunately, most unsold pastries and approximately 1/3 of the food in restaurants and cafes are thrown away at the end of the day. This is called food waste.
It is predicted that 1.3 billion tons of food are thrown away yearly.
It is predicted that 1.3 billion tons of food are thrown away yearly.
Ուզում եմ կարդալ ավելին
Unfortunately, most unsold pastries and approximately 1/3 of the food in restaurants and cafes are thrown away at the end of the day. This is called food waste.
It is predicted that 1.3 billion tons of food are thrown away yearly.
It is predicted that 1.3 billion tons of food are thrown away yearly.
In 2013, Jamie Crummy was invited to a big party, for which a huge amount of food was bought and ended up being thrown away because it wasn't used up. This deeply concerned Jamie, who was sure that it was foolish to treat food like that. Excited by what happened, in 2015 he co-founded the Too Good To Go organization. They released a phone application (app) where at the end of the day, restaurants can sell the food that was not sold during the day with a discounted price. Anyone can open the app, find restaurants near them, and go buy that food on a discount.
The Too good to go platform has become so popular that it now operates in 17 countries. In just four years, they received 18 million USD in investments. Now the platform has more than 46 million users. According to their calculations, they saved more than 97.8 million meals. Now the program works everywhere: in restaurants, canteens, shops, and hotels.
In Russia, similar projects were started to recreate their success. The most successful one is EatMe based in St. Petersburg, which has 400 registered restaurants.
In Russia, similar projects were started to recreate their success. The most successful one is EatMe based in St. Petersburg, which has 400 registered restaurants.
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In 2013, Jamie Crummy was invited to a big party, for which a huge amount of food was bought and ended up being thrown away because it wasn't used up. This deeply concerned Jamie, who was sure that it was foolish to treat food like that. Excited by what happened, in 2015 he co-founded the Too Good To Go organization. They released a phone application (app) where at the end of the day, restaurants can sell the food that was not sold during the day with a discounted price. Anyone can open the app, find restaurants near them, and go buy that food on a discount.
The Too good to go platform has become so popular that it now operates in 17 countries. In just four years, they received 18 million USD in investments. Now the platform has more than 46 million users. According to their calculations, they saved more than 97.8 million meals. Now the program works everywhere: in restaurants, canteens, shops, and hotels.
In Russia, similar projects were started to recreate their success. The most successful one is EatMe based in St. Petersburg, which has 400 registered restaurants.
In Russia, similar projects were started to recreate their success. The most successful one is EatMe based in St. Petersburg, which has 400 registered restaurants.
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- 17 countries
- 54 million users
- 75k restaurants
- 17 countries
- 54 million users
- 75k restaurants
There are similar private initiatives in Yerevan too. Crumbs Cafe gives candy to orphanages, makes vinegar from apple peels, and gives the rest to farmers for livestock. Tavern Yerevan (Pandok), Lavash, Sherep, Art Lunch restaurants send food to farmers for livestock, and use fruits and vegetables to make jams and tomato paste.
There are similar private initiatives in Yerevan too. Crumbs Cafe gives candy to orphanages, makes vinegar from apple peels, and gives the rest to farmers for livestock.
Tavern Yerevan (Pandok), Lavash, Sherep, Art Lunch restaurants send food to farmers for livestock, and use fruits and vegetables to make jams and tomato paste.
Imagine a business owner of a large restaurant is not interested in the food waste problem. What can convince him to make changes in his restaurant?
Imagine a business owner of a large restaurant is not interested in the food waste problem. What can convince him to make changes in his restaurant?
Mark Zornes, the co-founder of the Winnow initiative, has been interested in the kitchen since he was 6 years old. During his career, he worked for years in the food industry, studied how businesses and nature can be combined, and, as he says, gained a deep respect for food. Realizing that the problem of food waste is becoming more and more complicated, and food delivery businesses remain indifferent, Mark with Kevin Duffy founded the startup Winnow.
Cameras are placed above the trash cans in restaurants, hotels and cafes. The camera records the food thrown away into the can, analyzes it using machine learning, and calculates how much it would cost. At the end of the month, the system shows how much money was wasted in the form of food. This motivates businessmen a lot.
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Many famous restaurants and hotels already use the Winnow system. One of these is the five-star Sofitel Bangkok hotel in the center of Bangkok. The hotel team wanted to reduce the food waste collected after buffets. Thus, they installed the Winnow system and counted how much food they throw away. They understood how much food should be prepared and saved 60 thousand US dollars in half a year.
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Mark Zorns, the co-founder of the Winnow initiative, has been interested in the kitchen since he was 6 years old. During his career, he worked for years in the food industry, studied how businesses and nature can be combined, and, as he says, gained a deep respect for food. Realizing that the problem of food waste is becoming more and more complicated, and food delivery businesses remain indifferent, Mark with Kevin Duffy founded the startup Winnow.
Cameras are placed above the trash cans in restaurants, hotels and cafes. The camera records the food thrown away into the can, analyzes it using machine learning, and calculates how much it would cost. At the end of the month, the system shows how much money was wasted in the form of food. This motivates businessmen a lot.
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Many famous restaurants and hotels already use the Winnow system. One of these is the five-star Sofitel Bangkok hotel in the center of Bangkok. The hotel team wanted to reduce the food waste collected after buffets. Thus, they installed the Winnow system and counted how much food they throw away. They understood how much food should be prepared and saved 60 thousand US dollars in half a year.
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How Winnow works
How Winnow works
In the city of Bergen, IKEA sells about 2,000 meals a day. With the Food is Precious program, it had to reduce food waste by half by August 2020. How was it possible to make changes in the food court?
IKEA is a great example of food waste management.
They had been controlling food waste before, but they never imagined that they would be able to reduce food waste by 45% with Winnow. In one year, they saved 126,000 euros.
They had been controlling food waste before, but they never imagined that they would be able to reduce food waste by 45% with Winnow. In one year, they saved 126,000 euros.
In the city of Bergen, IKEA sells about 2,000 meals a day. With the Food is Precious program, it had to reduce food waste by half by August 2020. How was it possible to make changes in the food court?
IKEA is a great example of food waste management.
They had been controlling food waste before, but they never imagined that they would be able to reduce food waste by 45% with Winnow. In one year, they saved 126,000 euros.
They had been controlling food waste before, but they never imagined that they would be able to reduce food waste by 45% with Winnow. In one year, they saved 126,000 euros.
How do you think the leftover food problem at home can be solved?
The food waste problem generated at home has captured Climate Uturn alumna Alla's attention. To solve the problem, he created home composters. In the compost, there are California red worms that eat half their weight of organic waste every day. Food or any other organic remains (cardboard, leaf, paper, etc.) are placed in the composter, and the worms break them down and turn them into vermicompost. The resulting humus can be used to fertilize the soil.
Vermifarma is odorless and looks like household furniture. It consists of 3 shelves. on the first shelf, the liquid separated from the compost (which can be used to water the plants) is poured, and on the second and third shelves there are food residues, worms and the obtained humus.
Vermifarma is odorless and looks like household furniture. It consists of 3 shelves. on the first shelf, the liquid separated from the compost (which can be used to water the plants) is poured, and on the second and third shelves there are food residues, worms and the obtained humus.
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How do you think the leftover food problem at home can be solved?
The food waste problem generated at home has captured Climate Uturn alumna Alla's attention. To solve the problem, he created home composters. In the compost, there are California red worms that eat half their weight of organic waste every day. Food or any other organic remains (cardboard, leaf, paper, etc.) are placed in the composter, and the worms break them down and turn them into vermicompost. The resulting humus can be used to fertilize the soil.
Vermifarma is odorless and looks like household furniture. It consists of 3 shelves. on the first shelf, the liquid separated from the compost (which can be used to water the plants) is poured, and on the second and third shelves there are food residues, worms and the obtained humus.
Vermifarma is odorless and looks like household furniture. It consists of 3 shelves. on the first shelf, the liquid separated from the compost (which can be used to water the plants) is poured, and on the second and third shelves there are food residues, worms and the obtained humus.
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What do you think causes the unpleasant smell coming from landfills?
What do you think causes the unpleasant smell coming from landfills?
Anaerobic decomposition of organic waste (decomposing in the absence of oxygen when all the waste is compressed) releases methane, a greenhouse gas. The problem is that even if no new waste is added to the pile, this gas will continue to be released for ten years.
Methane is dangerous because, like carbon dioxide, it contributes to global warming. By creating a closed cycle, the high temperature, in turn, accelerates the methane decomposition process.
Avoiding food waste is not difficult. By wasting food, we waste all the resources that were used to grow and prepare it.
Methane is dangerous because, like carbon dioxide, it contributes to global warming. By creating a closed cycle, the high temperature, in turn, accelerates the methane decomposition process.
Avoiding food waste is not difficult. By wasting food, we waste all the resources that were used to grow and prepare it.
Anaerobic decomposition of organic waste (decomposing in the absence of oxygen when all the waste is compressed) releases methane, a greenhouse gas. The problem is that even if no new waste is added to the pile, this gas will continue to be released for ten years.
Methane is dangerous because, like carbon dioxide, it contributes to global warming. By creating a closed cycle, the high temperature, in turn, accelerates the methane decomposition process.
Avoiding food waste is not difficult. By wasting food, we waste all the resources that were used to grow and prepare it.
Methane is dangerous because, like carbon dioxide, it contributes to global warming. By creating a closed cycle, the high temperature, in turn, accelerates the methane decomposition process.
Avoiding food waste is not difficult. By wasting food, we waste all the resources that were used to grow and prepare it.
When an apple or other organic product begins to decompose, multiple bacteria begin to multiply in it. Essentially, decomposition is a process in which bacteria absorb organic matter. Simply put, bacteria, like us, must survive by feeding on something, and now they live, feed and multiply in our apples.
If we have only one apple on the ground, for example, on the garden soil, it is surrounded by oxygen, and aerobic bacteria (bacteria that need air to live) begin to break it down. These bacteria, decomposing the apple, produce clean water and carbon dioxide, which can serve as fertilizer for the soil.
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Under the influence of aerobic bacteria, the upper layers of apples soften, squeeze together, and a new batch of fruit is poured over them. In case of oxygen deficiency, anaerobic bacteria, which do not need air to survive, become active. Some of these bacteria can even live in the human body. They were discovered by Louis Pasteur, surprising everyone that life without air exists.
Under the influence of anaerobic bacteria, methane gas is gradually released. This is what makes the anaerobic decomposition of organic waste problematic for the environment. Methane is dangerous because it causes the average annual temperature of the Earth to rise. And the higher temperature, in turn, contributes to more methane release. Such a closed chain is obtained.
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When an apple or other organic product begins to decompose, multiple bacteria begin to multiply in it. Essentially, decomposition is a process in which bacteria absorb organic matter. Simply put, bacteria, like us, must survive by feeding on something, and now they live, feed and multiply in our apples.
If we have only one apple on the ground, for example, on the garden soil, it is surrounded by oxygen, and aerobic bacteria (bacteria that need air to live) begin to break it down. These bacteria, decomposing the apple, produce clean water and carbon dioxide, which can serve as fertilizer for the soil.
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Under the influence of aerobic bacteria, the upper layers of apples soften, squeeze together, and a new batch of fruit is poured over them. In case of oxygen deficiency, anaerobic bacteria, which do not need air to survive, become active. Some of these bacteria can even live in the human body. They were discovered by Louis Pasteur, surprising everyone that life without air exists.
Under the influence of anaerobic bacteria, methane gas is gradually released. This is what makes the anaerobic decomposition of organic waste problematic for the environment. Methane is dangerous because it causes the average annual temperature of the Earth to rise. And the higher temperature, in turn, contributes to more methane release. Such a closed chain is obtained.
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What did you learn: how does the food waste harm the environment?
What did you learn: how does the food waste harm the environment?
Discussion 1: Key questions
If you want to prepare further for the discussion, below you will find the main questions of the upcoming meeting.
1. How does Too good to go organize its business? What does it do to develop the project?
2. Young girls, studying at AUA, tried to implement TGTG in Armenia, but the project was unsuccessful. Why did the project fail?
3. Imagine that you guys, as Winnow representatives, want to implement the project in Armenia, and you need to find and cooperate with investors. Who will be the potential investors? How will you collaborate, communicate and engage groups?
4. Imagine that you are participating in a meeting where the owner of one of the big restaurant chains in Armenia is also present. He doesn't know how dangerous the organic food that ends up in landfills is, and in all his restaurants, the unconsumed food is just thrown in the trash. You have 3 minutes to explain to him why throwing food in the trash is wrong and what can be done to solve the problem.
1. How does Too good to go organize its business? What does it do to develop the project?
2. Young girls, studying at AUA, tried to implement TGTG in Armenia, but the project was unsuccessful. Why did the project fail?
3. Imagine that you guys, as Winnow representatives, want to implement the project in Armenia, and you need to find and cooperate with investors. Who will be the potential investors? How will you collaborate, communicate and engage groups?
4. Imagine that you are participating in a meeting where the owner of one of the big restaurant chains in Armenia is also present. He doesn't know how dangerous the organic food that ends up in landfills is, and in all his restaurants, the unconsumed food is just thrown in the trash. You have 3 minutes to explain to him why throwing food in the trash is wrong and what can be done to solve the problem.