Do You Know the Benefits of Recycling Your Food Waste?

Have you ever given thought to the actual amount of food we consume or how much food we throw away in a week? Well, it is much more than you think! It has been estimated that every household wastes about 20kgs of food every month, which in South Africa alone is 2 million tonnes of CO2e per year. Therefore, people have been looking for new ways to recycle their food waste, which has led to a lot of additional benefits.

What are the benefits of recycling your food waste?

Firstly, you will be able to create your organic compost or send your food waste to a place that will be able to convert this waste into organic compost. There are great businesses out there like Bokashi Bran that can be used to stop food waste from rotting and smelling. This can be used to divert food waste from the landfill and improve the nutrition in your compost, soil structure, improve the quality of the plants, and lower disease pressure on plants. You are essentially saving 98% in carbon emissions and saving money by creating your very own compost by recycling food waste.

Secondly, composting could help businesses save money. Food waste is paramount in commercial settings such as restaurants and large office blocks. The bulk of waste collected mostly comprises of food waste; thus, by implementing a composting system in these commercial settings, businesses could cut back on major expenses as they won’t have to pay waste collection companies. In addition, restaurants could use their composting system to start their very own vegetable garden and use their own fresh produce for their dishes, again cutting back on expenses.

Thirdly, composting can create more job opportunities. In South Africa, the unemployment rate is staggeringly high, and in 2021 the unemployment rate was recorded at 46.6%. Composting has the potential to become a driver of local economic growth and community upliftment in South Africa. There are very little costs involved in composting, and if initiative is taken, small communities can be uplifted by either selling their compost to local farmers or even starting their own vegetable gardens with the compost and selling their fresh produce to others in the community and residing areas.

Lastly, you will be creating a better future for the next generations of mankind. You will be doing this by reducing landfill space, generating more space for humanity and nature. In addition, landfill sites also release methane gases which are extremely harmful to the environment. It has been known to contaminate nearby water sources and is one of the main reasons for climate change.

Conclusion

By recycling food waste, you will be doing so much more than what you think. You will be able to help fight climate change, create your organic compost, increase job opportunities and, of course, help save the environment. Therefore, everyone, including you, should be recycling food waste.