Using Circular Economy theory to cut household food waste

The basic concept of a Circular Economy is to maintain a supply chain that follows the cycle of 1) make → 2) use → 3) reuse/recycle. This principle has been applied in the use of renewable sources in the energy industry, and in the apparel industry at second-hand clothing stores. These approaches have been somewhat popular in Japan, with people choosing to install solar panels at home, for instance, or buying fewer clothes and purchasing them from second-hand shops. But could we also do something about the food industry from the consumer side? Yes, we can. One-third of edible food is wasted globally, but applying the principles of a circular economy can help save it.

Difference between Food Loss and Food Waste

Before we dig further into the idea of reducing food loss and food waste, let’s first clarify the difference between the two terms. Japanese news typically only uses the phrase “food loss.” However, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, food loss and food waste are two different things. Food loss refers to “the decrease in the quantity or quality of food resulting from decisions and actions by food suppliers in the chain, excluding retailers, food service providers and consumers.” Meanwhile, food waste is “the decrease in the quantity or quality of food resulting from decisions and actions by retailers, food service providers and consumers.” Since food waste is more relevant to the consumer’s point of view, that is the focus of this article.

Food Waste in Japan and the world

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, Japan has the 14^th largest national estimated household food waste. That seems high at first glance, but understandable when the size of Japan’s population is taken into consideration. You can see that population plays a large role in determining this ranking: China is first on the list, India is 2^nd, 3^rd is Nigeria, 4^th is Indonesia, and the USA is 5^th. These countries rank within the top 7 largest countries by population. Therefore, what we really need to look at is countries’ food waste per capita.

An eye-opening fact is that Nigeria has the highest household food waste per capita, with 189 kg a year. By contrast, Japan and China each have only 64 kg per capita a year, which is the average household food waste per capita in Eastern Asia. It is the second-lowest amount of per capita household waste after Eastern Europe. So it seems that Japan is doing well in terms of food waste management. Does that mean there is nothing much more we can do? I would say, “No.”

Let’s take a look at Japanese household waste. Kyoto City estimates that in the 2020 fiscal year, its population threw away 48,288 tons of food as cooking scraps, and 25,785 tons of edible food as either leftovers or completely untouched food. On a national scale, that equates to each person in Japan wasting the equivalent of one bowl of rice every day. Shocking, isn’t it? Imagine a friend of yours everyday just throwing away one riceball that they could still eat. I don’t think anyone can watch that without saying, “Mottainai!” (What a waste!).

But how did that waste arise? Studies show that it is caused by consumer behaviors such as these:

1. Disposal of untouched food in accordance with its “best-by date”
2. Forgetting to use food kept in storage
3. Removal of edible parts of food when cooking or processing

What can you do to prevent food waste at home?

These kinds of waste can be prevented by applying the Circular Economy theory. The first thing to consider is how to reduce waste. This is simple to do. You just need to buy only the amount of food that you will actually consume. As a consequence, you will perhaps start buying less food, and this reduction on the consumer side may eventually cause the production side to produce less intensively.

The second approach is composting. This may be a bit more complicated to apply, depending on where you live. Your local municipality might not offer a composting system, but more and more organizations and facilities are emerging that assist the public to compost food waste. In Omihachiman City, Shiga Prefecture, the non-profit organization (NPO) Japan Food Recycling Network has been contributing greatly by composting and utilizing food waste since 2006.

Such NPOs bridge a gap between food waste and users of the resulting organic fertilizers. In northeastern Japan, Tohoku Bio Food Recycle is due to open this spring. This facility will ferment 40 tons of household food waste a day and should be able to generate 6,500 MWh a year, which is equal to the energy use of 1,500 households. It will be a good tool for establishing a new recycling system for food waste and encouraging locals to recycle it. And hopefully, this approach will spread throughout the whole country.

Perhaps there is an organization or facility like these near where you live. Look for local information about food waste disposal, or ask people in your community about it. Each of our actions might be small but, as they say, “from small acorns, great oak trees grow.” How about starting even a little change today?