To date, millions of tons of food have been transformed from a resource into pure waste.
According to the latest figures released by UNEP – United Nations Environment Programme – some 931 million tonnes of food waste was generated in 2019, 61% of which came from households, 26% from food services and 13% from retail. In total, 17% of global food production was wasted.
People are now starting to realise that food waste, as well as being an economic problem, has major environmental consequences: the disposal of each tonne of food waste produces around 4.2 tonnes of CO₂.
Despite the fact that food waste is still substantial, as shown by the numbers above, individual behaviour seems to be improving: “empty-fridge” recipes, new techniques for preserving and conserving food, apps aimed at reducing food waste.
These are apps whose main objective is to minimise food waste by putting ‘circular’ thinking into practice.
The circular economy is an economic model that aims to avoid waste and preserve the value of resources for as long as possible. Products and materials are circulating all the time, as opposed to a linear model where they are discarded as waste after use and not in the case of the food sector.
Here are some examples of innovative applications determined to make a difference.
Too Good to go
We have to start with Too Good To Go, a Danish app that has become very popular. This app can be easily downloaded from the Apple store or Google Play, giving the possibility to buy Magic boxes with food left unsold during the day from bars, bakeries, supermarkets and hotels. The customer cannot choose the contents of their magic box, but the magic lies in the price, which is two thirds less than the full cost, ranging from around two to seven euros.
You like it because it’s a surprise, you open it and you don’t know what’s in the envelope you bought with a click from your mobile phone and it’s called a ‘magic box’.
La Repubblica
Curious to find out more about this app, but above all about the principles behind it, we decided to interview TooGoodToGo Business Developer, Valeria Sanguineti.
<<MORE THAN 1/3 OF ALL FOOD PRODUCED IS WASTED. 2.5 BILLION TONS estimated at $1.2 trillion.
Reducing food waste is one of the most important and concrete actions we can take as customers, retailers and entrepreneurs to combat global warming.
Any retailer selling edible products can join the initiative and adapt the service according to their needs. It is not necessary to put Magic Boxes in every day, but only on days when you have a food surplus.
In the more than a year that I have been working at Too Good To Go, I have seen how day by day more and more large and small companies are deciding to join us in the fight against food waste.>>
TooGoodToGo Business Developer, Valeria Sanguineti
THE NUMBERS OF TOO GOOD TO GO IN THE WORLD
My Foody
In second place, but not least, is the MyFoody app. Using geolocalisation, users can view products that are close to their expiry date or have some minor packaging defects offered by the app’s partner supermarkets. One of these is the collaboration between MyFoody and Unicoop Tirreno, which is set to be consolidated over the years.
Bring the food
As well as fighting food waste, BringTheFood, a web application used by various organisations and networks to manage surplus food, also serves social purposes. Thanks to this platform, the donation of surplus food from company and school canteens, bakeries, rotisseries and caterers is immediate, and the recovery and redistribution within 24 hours of fresh and cooked products is possible. In total, 633,906 meals were recovered and distributed in 2021.
avanzi popolo 2.0
Avanzi popolo 2.0 is an online community for the exchange of food close to its expiry date. Thanks to the web platform www.avanzipopolo.it, it is possible to practice the so-called foodsharing, i.e. the exchange of food at risk of being wasted among users. But that’s not all. The site encourages food recovery actions at companies, venues or events in favour of subjects that are able to redistribute it for social purposes in the territory and events and activities of education, training and awareness-raising on the theme of food waste.
Last minute sotto casa
Finally, we offer an overview of Last Minute Sotto Casa. Created in Turin in 2014, this app connects producers, retailers, traders and consumers in order to reduce food waste. Specifically, the app alerts users to unmissable offers of products close to their expiry date.
