Australians are well underway to throw out $10.3 billion worth of foodstuffs this year. This waste has been alarming for many years now, but this year, it has been accelerated by the Coronavirus crisis. Each household is expected to throw out $1,043 worth of food in 2020; 12.7 per cent of the food they buy. Also, 10 per cent of Australians admit to producing more waste due to the pandemic.
Those aged 23 and younger are the worst offenders, tossing away a staggering 18.4 per cent of their food, compared to 6 per cent for Baby Boomers. The worst states for food wastage are NSW (14 per cent) and Queensland (12 per cent), while West Australians are on track to produce 2 per cent less food waste this year. Residents in South Australia (11 per cent), Victoria (10.1 per cent) and Tasmania (7.7 per cent) perform slightly better.
According to a new Rabobank report, city dwellers are more wasteful on average, tossing 13.6 per cent of what they buy, while those in the country throw away less than 12 per cent. Not only does food waste contribute to the global hunger crisis, it also negatively impacts climate change.
Source: qt.com.au