Every year we throw away a lot of food, much of it perfectly edible. Perhaps it is just an inevitable part of our pre-prepared, ready bagged, multipacked, buy-one-get-one-free way of shopping. But Tony Cowling thinks not and has a friend who is providing living proof.
recycle
€3.2m London project to target food waste prevention and recycling alongside healthy eating
A new London-wide behaviour change initiative could save Londoners £330m, reduce avoidable food waste in the capital and increase awareness of more healthy and sustainable eating.
Sweden paying people to fix things
To combat its ‘throwaway consumer culture’, Sweden has announced tax breaks on repairs to clothes, bicycles, fridges and washing machines. On bikes and clothes, VAT has been reduced from 25% to 12% and on white goods consumers can claim back income tax due on the person doing the work.
Recycling won’t solve the waste dilemma, but consumers can
Speaking to the World Economic Forum (WEC) during a live Facebook webinar, TerraCycle’s chief executive Tom Szaky claimed that the world “can’t recycle [it’s] way out of waste” and instead called on individuals to tweak shopping habits in order to promote durable and used products.
Remade in Edinburgh: inspiring reuse and repair
Sophie Unwin of Remade in Edinburgh has written an article on Scotland’s Common Space web site about how learning to repair and reuse benefits the community. Remade in Edinburgh teaches repair and reuse skills, and sells recycled and upcycled IT equipment and furniture.