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Brussels households can bin 33 kilograms less food per month

17:55 14/12/2021

Brussels families can prevent tossing out 33 kilograms of food waste a month on average, according to the results of an experiment carried out by consultancy FoodWin. For its Food Waste Mission BXL, the Brussels-based company worked with 845 households over five weeks this autumn to reduce the amount of edible food they threw away.

The families binned 33 kilograms less food on average compared to their previous behaviour, reducing food waste by 73%. They all received guidance on buying wisely, zero-waste cooking, sustainable methods of storing fresh food and using up leftovers.

“It amazes me time and time again that participants can accomplish so much with such minor changes,” said Loïck Bekaert of FoodWin. “I am so happy with the efforts made by the families because they have once again proven that it can be easy to combat food waste and have a major impact.”

Together the families reduced CO2 emissions by nearly 76 kilograms, just by not throwing out the food. But they also saved money. According to FoodWin, households can save €169 a year by improving their refrigerator storage habits. The participating families were taught about temperature zones in their fridges and which foods should – and should not – be stored in the fridge.

FoodWin carried out the project in collaboration with Environnement.Brussels as part of the region’s Good Food programme. Tips on how to reduce food waste that were part of Food Waste Mission BXL can be found on the dedicated website.

Etterbeek residents come together to cook in the restaurant Kom à la maisonEtterbeek residents come together to cook in the restaurant Kom à la maison

In related news, the Brussels Capital-Region has selected nine projects to fund that concentrate on sustainable and healthy food options. Also part of Good Food, the funding totals €324,000 to be shared among the projects.

Among the project selected is Kom à la maison, a ‘participatory restaurant’ in Etterbeek. Local residents come together to cook lunch every day for customers using local ingredients and food about to expire from organic supermarkets.

Another project to receive funding is The Social Food Truck, which provides healthy meals to vulnerable members of society such as homeless people and migrants.

Photo top ©Luigi Bertello/BELGA

 

Written by Lisa Bradshaw