As reported by the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nation, up to 33% of all food is spoiled or waste before it is consumed with over 1 billion people hungry every single day. At the current rate, food waste generates about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions annually making it the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases behind China & the United States. In the European Union, around 88 million tons of food are wasted annually at costs estimated at $161B.
Food waste in Macedonia
Today in Macedonia, we landfill 99.4% of the 543,644 tons of mixed municipal waste which is comprised of glasses, plastics, paper, and other types of waste annually. Of the 543,644 tons of mixed municipal waste, 42% (228,330 tons) is bio-waste, the largest waste stream comprised of garden, food, and other biodegradable waste (i.e. food waste).
How much do we Landfill?
We have over 445,099 citizens (21% of the population) struggling with poverty (earning less than $3,155.04/year for a family of four) and dealing with food insecurity every single day. Currently, we have 50 public kitchens which provide 1 meal a day a cost of $1.43 to between 3,500 – 4,000 citizens, only a fraction of the population in need, at a tremendous cost $1.7M – $2M a year due to the food being purchased rather than repurposing the over 5,000 tons of food surplus that is landfilled each year.
How much we can save?
We will eventually be able to save the country $703,415 -$1M/year from the eliminating waste collection fees by introducing new innovative methods to utilize food waste.