The Australian government's National Food Waste Strategy was launched this week by the Minister for the Environment and Energy at a food waste summit.
The strategy is the result of six months of consultation with industry, academia, the not-for-profit sector, and all tiers of government.
The strategy's aim is to halve Australia’s food waste by 2030.
During the launch, the Minister, Hon. Josh Frydenberg MP made particular mention of the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) for the development of its Save Food Packaging Award.
In 2016, the Australian Government committed to developing the strategy and convening a National Food Waste Summit, and Australia’s environment ministers extended their support.
Food waste is estimated to cost the Australian economy around $20 billion each year, and Australian consumers throw away around 3.1 million tonnes of edible food a year.
Another 2.2 million tonnes is disposed by the commercial and industrial sector.
It is agreed that the complexities of dealing with food waste means an integrated approach is needed, and there are many opportunities to rethink how food waste can be prevented, or wasted food can be used for other purposes.
