Approximately 180 kilograms of food is destined for children’s homes in Selangor

About 177 kg of food collected over three days in the Selangor cluster located in Shah Alam by the What A Waste (WAW) social enterprise was transported to various homes of underprivileged children.

Subang Jaya Assemblywoman Michelle Ng said the initiative to collect surplus cooked food in Selangor Legislative Session started in the previous meeting (in December 2022) and continued because it was a good step.

Citing UN guidance that one kilogram of food waste in landfill produces the equivalent of 2.5kg of CO2 emissions, she said: “177kg of food salvaged over three days (in March 2023) means a reduction of 442.5kg in emissions.” Carbon Dioxide. .

According to WAW, 168 kg of food was saved over five days during the previous meeting.

“Food items that are packaged in WAW channels are in clean plastic packaging that has been donated by the public, so there is no waste in terms of packaging.”

Ng was speaking during a news conference highlighting the link between food waste and climate change on the sidelines of the session Friday (March 17).

She explained that when surplus food is sent to a landfill, it will rot and produce methane, carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming and climate change.

“We want to empower people with this knowledge so that we know how to adapt our lifestyles and habits to deal with this problem. As consumers, we need to be mindful of our consumption and not waste food,” said Ng.

“Ahead of the upcoming holiday season, we urge food and beverage operators and society at large to consider ways to reduce food waste.

“This can be done through proper planning to avoid overcooking food, thinking of ways to divert food back to those in need and separating food that can be used as animal feed or as fertilizer.”

Alvin Chen, one of the founders of WAW, said that the Subang Jaya organization was founded four years ago.

“We save surplus food and give it to marginalized communities. Food consists of ready-to-eat food and unsold or unwanted raw ingredients (because they are not in pristine condition but still edible),” he said.

WAW deals with food waste in two ways – through direct distribution of surplus food and a program to empower single mothers with cooking skills.

“Single moms are recruited as partner chefs at WAW, at no cost on their part. We give them raw ingredients and salvaged containers, and they help us repurpose ingredients into healthy food packaging.

“All food packages are distributed to various communities or beneficiaries. Through this method, we have been able to bypass the movement control order period and assist in crises such as flood relief efforts.”

Chen said the more people are aware of food waste, the more people will be involved in tackling the issue together, as it should be a matter of shared responsibility.

“Based on a review of WAW’s efforts, we were able to save more than 10 million kilograms of food, which means a reduction of 25 million kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions,” he said.