15,000 loaves of bread are wasted every day in Auckland – enough to cross the Harbour Bridge three times over!
Auckland Council erected huge toast towers* at Britomart on Wednesday 9 November to show the scale of food waste – the 4m-high pillars of toast representing less than one per cent of the bread Auckland wastes every day.
More than 2000 Aucklanders tried ‘compost cookies’ from council’s Wastewise Advisors at the city centre event. Inspirational dishes made from wasted food were also on display, courtesy of the talented catering students at AUT.
“Food waste is a massive issue in New Zealand and particularly in Auckland where our wastage is higher than the national average,” says Cllr Penny Hulse, Chair of the Environment and Community Committee.
“The majority of food waste at home can be easily avoided and that’s why we’re encouraging Aucklanders to love their leftovers. It’s easy and there are so many benefits.
“Food is such a precious resource and it’s such a shame to see it go to waste in the quantities it does in New Zealand. We’re proud to host this event to push the Love Food Hate Waste message in Auckland as part of our commitment to promote waste reduction,” she says.
Auckland Council’s Waste Planning Manager Parul Sood says less food waste is crucial to the council’s goal of zero waste by 2040.
“It’s recognised globally that we can’t keep sending things to landfill at the same rate. If we want to reach our 2040 target here in Auckland we all have to do our bit.”
Auckland Council is encouraging residents to love their leftovers throughout November with a series of workshops, competitions and community events promoting the Love Food Hate Waste campaign.
Re-using leftovers is so easy to do and you can find loads of inspiration at lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz.
Enjoy free community events
Auckland Council is supporting community-led events throughout the city this month. Fancy learning how to budget, plan, preserve or learn more about the food waste issue? To check out the schedule visit search ‘love food hate waste’ on the events page.
* The bread for the towers was sourced from Countdown and Bakers Delight – it wasn’t able to be sold the following day and would've gone to waste. Both parties were more than happy to take part in the activity. After being on the tower the bread was broken down and sent to a large-scale compost facility in South Auckland.
