Waste Not Want Not

Food for thought during the holiday season!!

Perhaps higher prices will teach us to put more value on – and extract more value from – the things we buy.

Australians have long benefited from low prices on staples. Bread, milk, fruit, vegetables – you name it. Food inflation in Australia is low compared most other countries.

We have hectares of fertile land in varied climates. Our agricultural industries and farmers are world class, and highly competitive. Eaters worldwide see Australian produce as a premium product, and they’re prepared to pay for it.

Yet we have a bad habit of taking our fresh food for granted. We waste over 300kg of food per person, every year. That’s one in every five grocery bags going into the bin. It means the average household is literally throwing away between $2,000 and $2,500 worth of food every year. Seventy per cent of this food is still perfectly edible.

The costs of food waste go beyond money. Food waste accounts for approximately 3% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. It also means a waste of land and water. Think of all the resources used to grow things that end up in a bin.

It’s easy to be complacent about food waste. Eyes bigger than stomachs and limited shelf life mean that perhaps some level of food waste is inevitable.

But it’s not the only thing that we’re wasteful with.

Take clothing. You’d think that with a warm climate and a fondness for swimwear, we wouldn’t be big consumers of clothing.

You’d think wrong. We are second in the world on per capita purchases of new clothing. Australians buy 27kg of clothes every year. That’s equivalent to a new pair of jeans every week – and jeans are heavy. The only country ahead of us is the United States.

We don’t let the clothes sit in our closets, either. An astounding 23kg per person per year – equivalent to 85% of new purchases – end up in landfill.

There’s no better time to renew conversations about the circular economy. Circular principles could help us get more value out of what we’ve already got – and possibly even make some pocket money on the way. How about leasing out that party outfit? The overripe banana would make a great smoothie or a loaf of banana bread.

Decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources is great for household budgets – especially when things are tight. It would also ease some of the supply-side inflationary pressures. Sure, buying less may not directly translate into GDP. But it would have benefits for our planet. It may even contribute to leaving this world a little better than it was when we inherited it.

Article by author Jessica Mizrahi who is an economic consultant and commentator.

Within my Money Makeover program you learn money management (not budgeting) and loads of ideas about reducing your wastage and reducing your discretionary spending.  Good for you and good for the planet.

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