Reduce GO app connects users with restaurants to promote no food waste

Food waste has been one of the biggest topics in Japan. Japan is looking at 28 million tons of food discarded and thrown away annually. By the way, it is equivalent to about 30% of food expenses. “Food waste,” such as unsold, expired, or leftover food that are still edible, accounts for around 6.32 million tons of waste that ends up in the trash.

This is where Reduce GO steps in, attempting to tackle the problem. It is a smartphone app which allows customers to take out surplus food at reasonable prices from restaurants and stores at a fixed amount.

Provided by a company based in Tokyo by the name of SHIFFT, Reduce GO is a matching service between users who would like to keep their expenses as low as possible, and restaurants and stores who are looking to reduce the disposal of food waste within their establishments.

Using Reduce GO App

The app is simply to use too. Users can easily search for meals they would like to eat within their area. With just a tap, users are able to transmit their orders to the store of their choice. In addition, you can order up to two meals per day for a flat monthly fee of ¥1,980 and won’t have to pay a fee for each order.

At a reasonable value, users can order delicious meals ranging from pizza, pasta, and hamburgers. Don’t forget, they are also contributing to cutting down on food waste too. Moreover, restaurants and stores are also able to reduce waste from their side without putting in any extra effort and recover a portion of profits.

According to SHIFFT’s former account planner, Ryosei Morizono, the app aims to bring in more than 300,000 members and 15,000 stores.

Mr. Morizono stated that this isn’t a new concept, and similar services are rolling out overseas. He shared that there were doubts whether there this model would receive 100% percent commitment to approach food waste. There were also questions whether the eating culture between Japan and other countries was different. Therefore, SHIFFT has decided to design a business model from the ground up, and developed it as a service for Japanese consumers.

No more ”Mottainai”: No more regret over wastage

”Mottainai” is phrase deeply embedded in the Japanese society which means not leaving anything to waste. The Japanese term defines itself by a sense of regret over waste, often used by environmentalists within the country. Therefore this term has been used to encourage everyone to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

However, there are still not enough people who are conscious about food wastage in their daily lives. Reduce GO is a potential tool that will could summon the “mottainai” ideology within ourselves. Who knows, with only three taps in Reduce Go, one person can help change the world.

It is as Mr. Morizono shared, “We aim to build a society where people residing in Japan are conscious of the environment, while also maintaining a sustainable way of thinking through a clean food lifestyle. If everyone banded together to improve our own lifestyles, we can change the world.”

This article was originally published on IDEAS FOR GOOD
Translated by Maurice Skinner